bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mitochondrial Transfer RNA
Met
4435A>G Mutation Is Associated With Maternally Inherited Hypertension in a Chinese Pedigree
Authors: Liu Yuqi , Li Ronghua , Li Zongbin , Wang Xin-Jian , Yang Li , Wang Shiwen , Guan Min-Xin
Published: April 2009

Mitochondrial DNA mutations have been associated with cardiovascular disease. We report here the clinical, genetic, and molecular characterization of 1 Han Chinese family with suggestively maternally transmitted hypertension. Matrilineal relatives in this family exhibited the variable degree of hypertension at the age at onset of 44 to 55 years old. Sequence analysis of entire mitochondrial DNA in this pedigree identified the known homoplasmic 4435A>G mutation, which is located immediately at the 3 prime end to the anticodon, corresponding with the conventional position 37 of tRNA
Met
, and 35 other variants belonging to the Asian haplogroup B5a. The adenine (A37) at this position of tRNA
Met
is extraordinarily conserved from bacteria to human mitochondria. This modified A37 was shown to contribute to the high fidelity of codon recognition, the structural formation, and stabilization of functional tRNAs. In fact, a 40% reduction in the levels of tRNA
Met
was observed in cells carrying the 4435A>G mutation. As a result, a failure in mitochondrial tRNA metabolism, caused by the 4435A>G mutation, led to ≈30% reduction in the rate of mitochondrial translation. However, the homoplasmic form, mild biochemical defect, and late onset of hypertension in subjects carrying the 4435A>G mutation suggest that the 4435A>G mutation itself is insufficient to produce a clinical phenotype. The other modifier factors, such as nuclear modifier genes, environmental, and personal factors may also contribute to the development of hypertension in the subjects carrying this mutation. Our findings imply that the 4435A>G mutation may act as an inherited risk factor for the development of hypertension in this Chinese pedigree.
Influence of the Menstrual Cycle, Pregnancy, and Preeclampsia on Arterial Stiffness
Authors: Robb Amy O. , Mills Nicholas L. , Din Jehangir N. , Smith Imogen B.J. , Paterson Finny , Newby David E. , Denison Fiona C.
Published: April 2009

Arterial stiffness and compliance are major predictors of adverse cardiovascular events and are influenced by female sex hormones, including estrogen and progesterone. The aim of this longitudinal study was to evaluate the effect of the menstrual cycle, normal pregnancy, and preeclampsia on central and systemic arterial stiffness. Ten healthy nulliparous women with regular menses were studied in the early and midfollicular, periovulatory, and luteal phases of a single menstrual cycle. Twenty-two primigravida pregnant women were studied throughout pregnancy at 16, 24, 32, and 37 weeks gestation and at 7 weeks postpartum. Fifteen primigravida women with preeclampsia were studied at diagnosis and 7 weeks postpartum. Augmentation index and carotid-radial and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocities were measured using applanation tonometry. Augmentation index fell during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle (luteal phase versus periovulatory phase;
P
<0.05). In normal pregnancy, pulse wave velocity and augmentation index increased from 24 weeks over the third trimester (
P
≤0.01 for both). All of the measures were increased in women with preeclampsia (
P
≤0.01), with augmentation index and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity remaining elevated 7 weeks postpartum (
P
≤0.02). We conclude that systemic arterial stiffness undergoes major changes during the menstrual cycle and pregnancy and that preeclampsia is associated with greater and more prolonged increases in arterial stiffness. These effects may contribute to adverse cardiovascular outcomes of pregnancy and preeclampsia.
Not Your Father's Poor Theatre
Authors: Bennacer Dominika
Published: April 2009

A derelict hall, a soundscape exuding through the cracks in the walls, and a narrative that becomes a “journey in place” provide the sensorial framing of Krzysztof Warlikowski's recent production of Hanoch Levin's 1975 Krum.
Macho Dancing, the Feminization of Labor, and Neoliberalism in the Philippines
Authors: Tolentino Rolando B.
Published: April 2009

Macho dancing in the gay bars of the Philippines is performed by male heterosexual dancers and is a symptom of the discursive cultural politics of the Philippines in transition from the Marcos dictatorship to today's multinational capitalism. The macho dancer's body can also be read as representing actual shifts in the cultural politics of the Filipino nation-state.
Gender and the Erotics of Nationalism in Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's Drama
Authors: Mwangi Evan Maina
Published: April 2009

At the intersection of symbolic language, gender, and national politics, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o uses sexual puns as a metaphor for land and political independence. Performance is central to all of Ngũgĩ's writing, and his oral performances in praise of his wife, Njeeri, mark the acme of his gendered use of language for political ends. Ngũgĩ's practice raises the question of whether the use of indigenous languages in African drama is liberating in and of itself, even when representations of gender roles are regressive.
Right-lateralized Brain Oscillations in Human Spatial Navigation
Authors: Jacobs Joshua , Korolev Igor O. , Caplan Jeremy B. , Ekstrom Arne D. , Litt Brian , Baltuch Gordon , Fried Itzhak , Schulze-Bonhage Andreas , Madsen Joseph R. , Kahana Michael J.
Published: April 2009

During spatial navigation, lesion and functional imaging studies suggest that the right hemisphere has a unique functional role. However, studies of direct human brain recordings have not reported interhemisphere differences in navigation-related oscillatory activity. We investigated this apparent discrepancy using intracranial electroencephalographic recordings from 24 neurosurgical patients playing a virtual taxi driver game. When patients were virtually moving in the game, brain oscillations at various frequencies increased in amplitude compared with periods of virtual stillness. Using log-linear analysis, we analyzed the region and frequency specificities of this pattern and found that neocortical movement-related gamma oscillations (34–54 Hz) were significantly lateralized to the right hemisphere, especially in posterior neocortex. We also observed a similar right lateralization of gamma oscillations related to searching for objects at unknown virtual locations. Thus, our results indicate that gamma oscillations in the right neocortex play a special role in human spatial navigation.
Spatial Attention Evokes Similar Activation Patterns for Visual and Auditory Stimuli
Authors: Smith David V. , Davis Ben , Niu Kathy , Healy Eric W. , Bonilha Leonardo , Fridriksson Julius , Morgan Paul S. , Rorden Chris
Published: April 2009

Neuroimaging studies suggest that a fronto-parietal network is activated when we expect visual information to appear at a specific spatial location. Here we examined whether a similar network is involved for auditory stimuli. We used sparse fMRI to infer brain activation while participants performed analogous visual and auditory tasks. On some trials, participants were asked to discriminate the elevation of a peripheral target. On other trials, participants made a nonspatial judgment. We contrasted trials where the participants expected a peripheral spatial target to those where they were cued to expect a central target. Crucially, our statistical analyses were based on trials where stimuli were anticipated but not presented, allowing us to directly infer perceptual orienting independent of perceptual processing. This is the first neuroimaging study to use an orthogonal-cuing paradigm (with cues predicting azimuth and responses involving elevation discrimination). This aspect of our paradigm is important, as behavioral cueing effects in audition are classically only observed when participants are asked to make spatial judgments. We observed similar fronto-parietal activation for both vision and audition. In a second experiment that controlled for stimulus properties and task difficulty, participants made spatial and temporal discriminations about musical instruments. We found that the pattern of brain activation for spatial selection of auditory stimuli was remarkably similar to what we found in our first experiment. Collectively, these results suggest that the neural mechanisms supporting spatial attention are largely similar across both visual and auditory modalities.
Detecting Novelty and Significance
Authors: Ferrari Vera , Bradley Margaret M. , Codispoti Maurizio , Lang Peter J.
Published: April 2009

Studies of cognition often use an “oddball” paradigm to study effects of stimulus novelty and significance on information processing. However, an oddball tends to be perceptually more novel than the standard, repeated stimulus as well as more relevant to the ongoing task, making it difficult to disentangle effects due to perceptual novelty and stimulus significance. In the current study, effects of perceptual novelty and significance on ERPs were assessed in a passive viewing context by presenting repeated and novel pictures (natural scenes) that either signaled significant information regarding the current context or not. A fronto-central N2 component was primarily affected by perceptual novelty, whereas a centro-parietal P3 component was modulated by both stimulus significance and novelty. The data support an interpretation that the N2 reflects perceptual fluency and is attenuated when a current stimulus matches an active memory representation and that the amplitude of the P3 reflects stimulus meaning and significance.
The Role of Right and Left Parietal Lobes in the Conceptual Processing of Numbers
Authors: Cappelletti Marinella , Lee Hwee Ling , Freeman Elliot D. , Price Cathy J.
Published: April 2009

Neuropsychological and functional imaging studies have associated the conceptual processing of numbers with bilateral parietal regions (including intraparietal sulcus). However, the processes driving these effects remain unclear because both left and right posterior parietal regions are activated by many other conceptual, perceptual, attention, and response-selection processes. To dissociate parietal activation that is number-selective from parietal activation related to other stimulus or response-selection processes, we used fMRI to compare numbers and object names during exactly the same conceptual and perceptual tasks while factoring out activations correlating with response times. We found that right parietal activation was higher for conceptual decisions on numbers relative to the same tasks on object names, even when response time effects were fully factored out. In contrast, left parietal activation for numbers was equally involved in conceptual processing of object names. We suggest that left parietal activation for numbers reflects a range of processes, including the retrieval of learnt facts that are also involved in conceptual decisions on object names. In contrast, number selectivity in right parietal cortex reflects processes that are more involved in conceptual decisions on numbers than object names. Our results generate a new set of hypotheses that have implications for the design of future behavioral and functional imaging studies of patients with left and right parietal damage.
Mechanisms and Dynamics of Cortical Motor Inhibition in the Stop-signal Paradigm: A TMS Study
Authors: van den Wildenberg Wery P. M. , Burle Borís , Vidal Franck , van der Molen Maurits W. , Ridderinkhof K. Richard , Hasbroucq Thierry
Published: April 2009

The ability to stop ongoing motor responses in a split-second is a vital element of human cognitive control and flexibility that relies in large part on prefrontal cortex. We used the stop-signal paradigm to elucidate the engagement of primary motor cortex (M1) in inhibiting an ongoing voluntary motor response. The stop-signal paradigm taps the ability to flexibly countermand ongoing voluntary behavior upon presentation of a stop signal. We applied single-pulse TMS to M1 at several intervals following the stop signal to track the time course of excitability of the motor system related to generating and stopping a manual response. Electromyography recorded from the flexor pollicis brevis allowed quantification of the excitability of the corticospinal tract and the involvement of intracortical GABABergic circuits within M1, indexed respectively by the amplitude of the motor-evoked potential and the duration of the late part of the cortical silent period (SP). The results extend our knowledge of the neural basis of inhibitory control in three ways. First, the results revealed a dynamic interplay between response activation and stopping processes at M1 level during stop-signal inhibition of an ongoing response. Second, increased excitability of inhibitory interneurons that drives SP prolongation was evident as early as 134 msec following the instruction to stop. Third, this pattern was followed by a stop-related reduction of corticospinal excitability implemented around 180 after the stop signal. These findings point to the recruitment of GABABergic intracortical inhibitory circuits within M1 in stop-signal inhibition and support the notion of stopping as an active act of control.
Individual Differences in Face Cognition: Brain–Behavior Relationships
Authors: Herzmann Grit , Kunina Olga , Sommer Werner , Wilhelm Oliver
Published: April 2009

Individual differences in perceiving, learning, and recognizing faces, summarized under the term face cognition, have been shown on the behavioral and brain level, but connections between these levels have rarely been made. We used ERPs in structural equation models to determine the contributions of neurocognitive processes to individual differences in the accuracy and speed of face cognition as established by Wilhelm, Herzmann, Kunina, Danthiir, Schacht, and Sommer [Individual differences in face cognition, in press]. For 85 participants, we measured several ERP components and, in independent tasks and sessions, assessed face cognition abilities and other cognitive abilities, including immediate and delayed memory, mental speed, general cognitive ability, and object cognition. Individual differences in face cognition were unrelated to domain-general visual processes (P100) and to processes involved with memory encoding (Dm component). The ability of face cognition accuracy was moderately related to neurocognitive indicators of structural face encoding (latency of the N170) and of activating representations of both faces and person-related knowledge (latencies and amplitudes of the early and late repetition effects, ERE/N250 and LRE/N400, respectively). The ability of face cognition speed was moderately related to the amplitudes of the ERE and LRE. Thus, a substantial part of individual differences in face cognition is explained by the speed and efficiency of activating memory representations of faces and person-related knowledge. These relationships are not moderated by individual differences in established cognitive abilities.
Evidence for Telomerase Activation in VSMCs Exposed to Hyperglycemic and Hyperhomocysteinemic Conditions
Authors: Jacob Theresa , Hingorani Anil , Ascher Enrico
Published: April 2009

Purpose

While diabetes and homocysteinemia have been demonstrated to be independent risk factors for progression of vascular disease, the activation of telomerase has not been linked to the potent effects of high levels of homocysteine (Hcy) and glucose on vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). We examined the proliferative response of VSMCs, resulting from hyperglycemia and hyperhomocysteinemia and their effects on telomerase activity.

Methods

Primary cultures of VSMC from human aorta and arteries were used in this experiment from 3rd −5th passages. Hcy or/and glucose were added to the cell culture media in doses equivalent to plasma levels of Hcy in patients with moderate, high homocysteinemia, or physiologically high concentrations of glucose as seen in diabetics. The modified telomeric repeat amplification protocol was used for telomerase activity assay. Cytotoxicity, viability, proliferation, protein phosphorylation, were determined in cultures treated and not treated with Hcy and glucose.

Results

The mitogenic effect of Hcy and glucose on VSMC, independently and together, was observed at 48 hours after treatment. The viable cell numbers were significantly increased at doses comparable to plasma levels of Hcy in hyperhomocysteinemia, as compared to untreated cultures ( p < 0.01). Cells exposed to high levels of glucose also exhibited an increased proliferation response ( p = 0.01). Telomerase activity was detected in all sets of VSMC cultures exposed to high levels of glucose or/and Hcy ( p < 0.01). However, a significant difference was not observed in telomerase activity, when high Hcy or high glucose was used alone or in concert. Significant dual phosphorylation of p38 MAPK was observed in treated cultures but it did not correlate with the telomerase activity detected.

Conclusion

These data establish a link with telomerase activation and the mitogenic effect of hyperhomocysteinemia and hyperglycemia.
Evaluation of Point-of-care Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time Testing by Comparison to Laboratory-based Assay for Control of Intravenous Heparin
Authors: Douglas Alexander D. , Jefferis Jo , Sharma Rishi , Parker Rachel , Handa Ashok , Chantler Jonathan
Published: April 2009

Introduction

Patients on intravenous heparin require regular activated partial thromboplastin time monitoring. Laboratory-based activated partial thromboplastin time assays necessitate a delay between blood sampling and dose adjustment. Point-of-care testing could permit immediate dose adjustments, potentially enabling tighter control of anticoagulation.

Aim

To assess equivalence of activated partial thromboplastin time measured by conventional laboratory assay and by a novel proprietary point-of-care testing system (Hemochron Response, ITC, Thoratec Corporation, Edison, NJ) among surgical ward patients on intravenous heparin.

Methods

A total of 39 blood samples from patients on intravenous heparin were tested with both laboratory and point-of-care assays. Assay equivalence was assessed by Bland-Altman analysis.

Results.

Point-of-care measurements exceeded laboratory activated partial thromboplastin time by a mean of 15 seconds (standard deviation 19). In 19 cases (49%), the point-of-care measurement would have resulted in different heparin dosing from the laboratory activated partial thromboplastin time.

Conclusions

The Hemochron Response system is not sufficiently accurate for routine ward use compared with laboratory activated partial thromboplastin time assays.
Platelet Function following Acute Cerebral Ischemia
Authors: Smout Jonathan , Dyker Alexander , Cleanthis Marcus , Ford Gary , Kesteven Patrick , Stansby Gererd
Published: April 2009

Background

Studies have previously identified increased levels of platelet activation following acute ischemic stroke. In order to evaluate new antiplatelet agents and their combinations, there is a need for accurate measures of platelet activation.

Methods

Blood was taken from 17 patients within 24 hours of an acute ischemic stroke, and then at 3, 7, 14 and 42 days. For comparison, a group of 18 stable arteriopaths had identical tests performed. Platelet aggregation was measured using a free platelet counting technique, and platelet surface P-selectin and monocyte platelet aggregates (MPAs) were measured using flow cytometry. Soluble P-selectin and D-dimers were measured by an enzyme linked immune assay.

Results

The initial level of MPAs was significantly raised in the stroke patients compared with the stable patients ( p = 0.04, 14.2% vs. 9.3%); however, this difference was not significantly higher than later study points (14.2%, 10.1%, 9.3%, 11.9%, 11.3%; days 1, 3, 7, 14 and 42 respectively. Day 1 vs. day 7 p = 0.07 ANOVA). No changes in P-selectin or platelet aggregation were identified. D-dimer levels were significantly higher on day 7 than day 42 ( p < 0.01), and fibrinogen levels were elevated on both days 3 and 14 compared with day 42. Fibrinogen levels were not elevated compared with stable patients.

Conclusions

MPA levels are elevated following an acute ischemic stroke compared to stable patients, but no significant change was seen with other platelet markers. This study suggests MPAs are a more sensitive marker of platelet activation than either P-selectin or aggregation.
Do Not Forget the Distal Lower Limb Veins in Screening Patients With Spinal Cord Injuries for Deep Venous Thromboses
Authors: Germing Alfried , Schakrouf Mahmud , Lindstaedt Michael , Grewe Peter , Meindl Renate , Mügge Andreas
Published: April 2009

In this prospective study, we aimed to document the rate and localization of deep venous thromboses in patients with spinal cord injuries. Patients with paraplegia or tetraplegia were screened by a serial color duplex sonography protocol for deep venous thrombosis within the first 36 hours after admission, at day 7, and at day 21. Sonography was performed by a complete scan including the veins below the knee. A total of 139 patients were included (19-90 years, 63.5% male). Cumulative rate of deep venous thrombosis after 3 duplex scans was 45.3% (n = 63). In 71.4% (n = 45), thromboses were localized below the knee. Because of the relevant number of distal vein thromboses, inclusion of the calf veins during screening scans is suggested. Further studies are needed to analyze the clinical benefit of diagnosing and treating distal vein thromboses.
Peripheral Arterial Disease and Clinical Risks in Taiwanese Hemodialysis Patients
Authors: Liu Jiung-Hsiun , Chang Chin-Cheng , Wang Shu-Ming , Chou Che-Yi , Yang Ya-Fei , Liu Yao-Lung , Lin Hsin-Hung , Huang Chiu-Ching
Published: April 2009

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality and is an important marker of systemic atherosclerosis. However, little is known about the associated risk factors for PAD in patients on maintenance hemodialysis (HD). We collected the basic data and possible risk factors associated with PAD for 277 patients on maintenance HD. Furthermore, we measured ankle-brachial blood pressure index (ABI) in these patients. PAD was defined as an ABI value less than 0.90. The prevalence of PAD in our HD center was 22.8% (61/268). Advanced age (P = 0.006), longer history of HD (P < 0.001), diabetes (P = 0.002) and presence of PAD symptoms (P < 0.001) were independent predictors of PAD. PAD patients with diabetes had shorter history of HD (P = 0.001). 2-vessel PAD had higher serum cholesterol in HD patients (≥ 200 vs < 200 mg/dL; Odds ratio, 12.12, 95% confidence interval, 2.199-67.79; P < 0.004).
Origen of Alexandria
Authors: Lyman Rebecca
Published: April 2009

Origen was a controversial spiritual teacher, biblical scholar, and priest in the early third century in Alexandria and Caesarea. He produced an unprecedented number of commentaries, homilies, a major apology, and the first comprehensive theology. Reading scripture allegorically was the primary means of encountering the living Word, and therefore the accessible way of transformation for all Christians. The son of a martyr, he was later tortured for his faith. Pronounced a heretic after his death, yet also continually defended and read for his theological brilliance and exegetical insight, he remains an uneasy ancestor for Christians as unfailingly faithful and original.
The Rule of St Benedict, Scotswood and Me
Authors: Knights Chris
Published: April 2009

This article describes how the Rule of St Benedict inspires and challenges the life and ministry of the author and the life and ministry of the church he serves, St Margaret's Scotswood, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and suggests that others `in ministry' could similarly be inspired and challenged by Benedict's words.
Liberation Psychology
Authors: Alsup Royal Earl
Published: April 2009

The author presents his construction of Liberation Psychology as an innovative interpretation of the social creativity of Martin Luther King, Jr., using the beloved community as an organizing metaphor. Dr. King worked and died for the community and national fulfillment of basic need satisfaction. He saw that need deprivation is oppressive. The author focuses on the interplay of the fulfillment of basic need categories, influenced by humanistic, transpersonal, and developmental psychologies, with themes of spiritual and existential life influenced by the Native American tradition. Basic human need fulfillment enabled Dr. King to become one of the most creative and influential leaders of our time who offered our world an image of living together without the soul destroying violence of racism, sexism, poverty, and war. The article reveals the “how” of Dr. King’s dream of the beloved community, showing that basic human need fulfillment through social creativity makes the beloved community possible.
Titanium Dioxide Particle-induced Alkaline Degradation of Poly(ethylene Terephthalate): Application to Medical Textiles
Authors: Rahman Mashiur , East G.C.
Published: April 2009

Titanium dioxide induced degradation of bright high-tenacity poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET:2GT) used in medical applications was investigated under both relaxed and stressed conditions. It was found that successive layers of the polymers were removed by hydrolysis as weight loss (%) was linear with the treatment time. However, owing to the presence of titanium dioxide, tenacity loss occurred and, therefore, at a given time of hydrolysis treatment, the breaking load loss (%) was greater than the weight loss (%). Scanning electron microscopy of the hydrolyzed PET showed that surface pitting occurred due to the presence of titanium dioxide. Larger pits formed on the surface of the stressed fibers than on the relaxed fibers. The findings suggest that the failure of numerous PET (Dacron) grafts, which have been responsible for many deaths, is due to the penetration of hydroxyl ions through the surface defects caused by titanium dioxide.
Ceramides Extracted from Wool: Supercritical Extraction Processes
Authors: Ramírez Mileo Raquel , Martí Gelabert Meritxell , Garay Peral Iratxe , Manich Bou Albert Maria , Parra Juez Jose Luis , Coderch Negra Luisa
Published: April 2009

Ceramides play a major role in structuring and maintaining the water permeability barrier function of the skin, and are widely used in different products for skin care and treatment. This work focused on the isolation of internal wool lipid extracts, enriched in ceramides by supercritical fluid extraction with carbon dioxide (CO2), in an attempt to minimize the environmental impact of the organic solvent extraction process. Selected extraction variables were optimized at two laboratory scales. The lipid composition of the different collected extracts was quantitatively analyzed by thin layer chromatography coupled to an automated flame ionization detector. The extracted wool was physically and chemically evaluated to determine its feasibility for textile purposes. Larger amounts of ceramides were obtained when 10.0 % methanol or ethanol was used as a modifier. Experimental data indicated that a temperature of 60°C resulted in a large yield of ceramides when low pressure (160 atm) and high CO2 volumes (5—7 cell volumes) were applied. Moreover, the temperature and the percentage of the modifier could be reduced to 40°C and to 5.0 % when methanol was used as a modifier, yielding slightly smaller amounts of ceramides. Although slight modifications were observed in some properties of the fibers because of the different extraction conditions, these differences were insignificant.
Optimization of Ionic Crosslinking Process: An Alternative to Conventional Durable Press Finishing
Authors: Sahin Umut Kivanc , Gursoy Nevin Cigdem , Hauser Peter , Smith Brent
Published: April 2009

Cotton fiber has a natural tendency to wrinkle. In order to overcome this undesired property several durable press finishes were proposed and have been used for a long while. However, most of these chemical finishes release formaldehyde, a suspected human carcinogen, which causes fabric to lose strength and to yellow. Non-formaldehyde alternatives to these finishes are expensive. Thus, a non-formaldehyde finish prepared by using common and more available chemicals is required. In this study, we prepared anionic cotton fabric and further treated it with a novel crosslinker, namely cationic glycerin. We focused on optimizing an ionic crosslinking process in terms of the treated fabric's wrinkle recovery angle (WRA). Our results showed that high WRA results may be achieved and the strength of fabric may also be increased.
The Level of Service Inventory—Revised (LSI-R)
Authors: Hsu Ching-I , Caputi Peter , Byrne Mitchell K.
Published: April 2009

This study examined the Level of Service Inventory—Revised (LSI-R) with Australian offenders. Normative statistics, offender need characteristics, and the predictive utility of the LSI-R were assessed using a sample of more than 78,000 administrations. No gender differences were apparent on the LSI-R total score, although female offenders scored higher than male offenders on the Finance and Family/Marital subscales. Significant sentence order differences (community, custodial, and a combination of community and custodial) were found, especially on the Criminal History, Education/Employment, and Companions subscales and the LSI-R total score. Bivariate correlations and logistic regression analyses indicated that different subscales were predictive of reoffending by sex and sentence orders. Overall, the assessment instrument indicated modest predictive validity, with varying results for the different offender groups. Female offenders serving combinations of community and custodial sentence orders, however, revealed unexpected findings. Discussions of the results, implications, and recommendations for further research are presented.
Investigating the Longitudinal Relation Between Offending Frequency and Offending Variety
Authors: Monahan Kathryn C. , Piquero Alex R.
Published: April 2009

Researchers interested in longitudinal patterns of criminal offending have paid close attention to several dimensions of criminal careers. Although it might be expected that several dimensions are strongly linked to one another, research has not explored their joint distribution. The study uses trajectory-based methodology to examine the joint relation between offending variety and offending frequency in a large sample of serious offenders from adolescence to early adulthood and also tests how several risk factors relate to the joint covariation between variety and frequency. Results indicate strong concordance between low and high rate variety and frequency trajectories but a more modest concordance among moderate rate variety and frequency trajectories. Criminal history, individual, parent, and peer characteristics predict differences in concordance between variety and frequency trajectories. Theoretical implications and directions for further research are outlined.
Social Class Differences in Self, Attribution, and Attention: Socially Expansive Individualism of Middle-Class Americans
Authors: Bowman Nicholas A. , Kitayama Shinobu , Nisbett Richard E.
Published: April 2009

Although U.S. culture strongly sanctions the ideal of independence, the specific ways in which independence is realized may be variable depending, among other factors, on social class. Characterized by relative scarcity of social and material resources, working-class (WC) Americans were expected to strongly value self-reliance. In contrast, with choices among abundant resources, middle-class (MC) Americans were expected to value personal control and social expansiveness. In support of this analysis, relative to their WC counterparts, MC Americans reported more support from friends and greater likelihood of giving and receiving advice but less self-reliance (Study 1). Furthermore, we found evidence that this social difference has cognitive consequences: College students with MC backgrounds were more likely than their WC counterparts were to endorse situational attributions for others' behavior (Studies 2a and 2b) as well as to show holistic visual attention (Study 3).
A Longitudinal Study of the Intergenerational Transmission of Religion
Authors: Bengtson Vern L. , Copen Casey E. , Putney Norella M. , Silverstein Merril
Published: April 2009

The longitudinal study of religious transmission or influence across generations is an important but underexamined area of research, particularly in terms of the religious influence of grandparents. How much influence do grandparents have on grandchildren's religious beliefs and practices, and has this changed over the past 30 years? As grandparents have become increasingly important in multigenerational families, do they exert an influence on their grandchildren's religiosity that is distinct from that of parents? Drawing on the Longitudinal Study of Generations (LSOG), this article uses grandparent—parent—grandchild triads and a generational sequential design to examine the transmission of three dimensions of religiosity — religious service attendance, religiousness and religious ideology — across generations from 1971 to 2000. Results indicate that in 1971 grandparents significantly influenced grandchildren's religious service attendance and religiousness, but these effects had weakened by 2000. The opposite pattern occurred for the transmission of conservative religious beliefs where there was a significant grandparent on grandchild effect in 2000, but not in 1971. Grandparents were also found to influence all three dimensions of grandchildren's religiosity independent of that of parents, suggesting that religious beliefs and practices formed within nuclear and extended families persist into adulthood with parents and grandparents simultaneously serving as independent and joint agents of religious socialization. In these analyses it was found that the influence of grandmothers on granddaughters' religiosity was especially pronounced. In general, the study shows a significant degree of religious influence across three generations in the family, and offers an expanded view of religious socialization by considering grandparents as active contributors to the religiosity of young adults.
Household Surveys as a Source of Data for Event History Analysis
Authors: Laplante Benoît , Santillán María Marta , Constanza Street María
Published: April 2009

The authors introduce a method that allows the use of data from rotating panel surveys, a design used in many household or labour force surveys, to realize statistical analyses similar to event history analysis. The method is illustrated with two examples, one on the dynamics of poverty — the effect of demographic and socioeconomic factors on the hazard of becoming poor in Argentina — and the other on family dynamics — the conversion of consensual unions into marriages. Both examples use data from the Argentinean Encuesta Permanente de Hogares, a national survey that is not designed to collect prospective or biographical data. The method allows for the use of time-varying independent variables and thus allows one to estimate the effect of an event on the hazard of another event, as in conventional event history analysis; several examples are provided.
Intra- and Extra-Familial Child Molestation as Pathways Building on Parental and Relational Deficits and Personality Disorders
Authors: Bogaerts S. , Buschman J. , Kunst M. J. J. , Winkel F. W.
Published: April 2009

This article addresses the intra- and extra-familial pathways of child molestation. The data presented show preliminary evidence that the difference between the intra- and extra-familial routes can be explained by schizoid and avoidant (intra-familial) and antisocial and passive—aggressive (extra-familial) personality structures. This study also reveals that the amount of warmth and autonomy received during childhood is associated with both intra- and extra-familial child-molesting behaviour. These findings contribute to a further explanation of this deviant sexual conduct and to the development and differentiation of the treatment of child molesters.
Politics, Violence and Revolutionary Virtue: Reflections On Locke and Sorel
Authors: Frazer Elizabeth , Hutchings Kimberly
Published: April 2009

John Locke (1632—1704) and Georges Sorel (1859—1922) are commonly understood as representing opposed positions vis-a-vis revolution — with Locke representing the liberal distinction between violence and politics versus Sorel's rejection of politics in its pacified liberal sense. This interpretation is shown by a close reading of their works to be misleading. Both draw a necessary link between revolution and violence, and both mediate this link through the concept of `war'. They both depoliticize revolution, as for both of them `war' is understood as extra-political. The revolutions of 1989 emphasize what actually is true of previous revolutions: they cannot coherently be thought of as extra-political.
The Limits of Terror: the French Revolution, Rights and Democratic Transition
Authors: Livesey James
Published: April 2009

The French Revolution has ceased to be the paradigm case of progressive social revolution. Historians increasingly argue that the heart of the revolutionary experience was the Terror and that the Terror prefigured 20thcentury totalitarianism. This article contests that view and argues that totalitarianism is too blunt a category to distinguish between varying experiences of revolution and further questions if revolutionary outcomes are ideologically determined. It argues that by widening the set of revolutions to include 17th and 18th century cases, as well as the velvet revolutions of the 1990s, we can reinterpret the French Revolution as a characteristic case of democratic transition with particular features.
Paradigms and Theory Building in the Domain of Business Families
Authors: Moores Ken
Published: April 2009

This article argues the bona fides of the study of family business as a standalone discipline. Using a widely accepted evolutionary process for the development of scientific disciplines and an established theory-building methodology, the author introduces a theoretically robust explanation of the domain of business families. Established theories widely acknowledged as having relevance to business families are meshed with the universally accepted three-circle Venn diagram-based paradigm to illustrate both the stage of the discipline in theory building terms and an evolutionary path to further develop a theory of the business family domain.
Bleeding Scars from Rwanda
Authors: Norridge Zoë
Published: April 2009

Much of the photography and literature published in response to the Rwandan genocide focuses on catastrophic human damage and highly visual manifestations of suffering. This work, whilst essential to documenting the events and the aftermath of the killings, has been in danger of obscuring the individual person, a tendency which is exacerbated by international representations of `Africa' as a place of violence, illness and death. In Les Blessures du silence, a collection of photographs and testimonial interviews from Rwanda, Alain Kazinierakis and Yolande Mukagasana challenge this pervasive foregrounding of injury by focusing instead on the ongoing emotional suffering of the individual. This article will examine how Kazinierakis's photography interacts with Mukagasana's interviews to provide an unusual contribution to the literature memorialising genocide.
Testimonial Encounter
Authors: Dauge-Roth Alexandre
Published: April 2009

For the survivors of the genocide of the Tutsis, testifying to their traumatic past must be envisioned in relation to the political and ideological tensions that define the representations of Rwanda's national history. Bearing witness represents the possibility `of' and the call `for' a dialogic space where survivors seek to redefine the present meaning derived from the experience of the genocide and its haunting resonance. In their attempt to re-envision and re-assert themselves through testimony, survivors move from a position of being subjected to political violence to a position that entails the promise of agency. In this regard, Mujawayo's dialogic and polyphonic art of witnessing is a unique resource. Her testimonies seek to generate a social space within which the survivors can negotiate, and eventually reclaim, the meaning of their survival and to assert the demands of the traumatic aftermath they face.
Optimal Mother Wavelet Selection for Lamb Wave Analyses
Authors: Fucai Li  , Guang Meng  , Kageyama Kazuro , Zhongqing Su  , Lin Ye
Published: April 2009

Structural health monitoring (SHM) system, usually consisting of a sensor network for collecting the structural response signal and data analysis algorithms for interpreting the signal, plays a significant role in fatigue life and damage accumulation prognostics. Wavelet transform (WT) has gained popularity as an efficient means of signal processing in SHM, in which an optimal mother wavelet-based WT can carry out feature extraction with high precision. This article is to provide criteria of optimal mother wavelet selection in Lamb wave analysis for SHM, motivation of which is that small error in Lamb wave analysis can result in much larger error in damage localization because of very fast propagating velocities of Lamb waves. A concept, Shannon entropy of wavelet coefficients, was established to calibrate the degree of optimization of the selected mother wavelet. As application, various mother wavelets selected using the proposed criteria were applied to Lamb wave signals acquired from CF/EP composite laminates containing delamination. With the optimum mother wavelet, the essential information of the delamination-generated Lamb waves was achieved with high precision. The results demonstrate the excellent capacity of the approach for selecting the most appropriate mother wavelets for Lamb wave analyses and therefore damage localization.
Harmonic Response of Three-phase Magneto-electro-elastic Beam Under Mechanical, Electrical and Magnetic Environment
Authors: Daga A. , Ganesan N. , Shankar K.
Published: April 2009

Magneto-electro-elastic (MEE) materials show a significant coupling between the mechanical, electrical, and magnetic fields. A three-phase MEE composite consisting of piezoelectric and piezomagnetic phases separated by a polymer matrix would have greater ductility and formability. In this article, harmonic response of three-phase MEE beam under mechanical, electrical, and magnetic load is presented using finite element method. Numerical studies are presented for different volume fraction (vf) of the magnetic phase in the three-phase MEE composite. Studies are done for clamped—free boundary condition of the beam. Ansys 8.1 is used to validate the code developed. The influence of various coupling term is also studied. The effect of coupling terms influencing the load vector plays a major role in the generation electric and magnetic potential when subjected to magnetic and electric conditions.
Feasibility of Piezoelectric Actuation with a Reduced Number of Drivers: A Periodic Control Approach
Authors: Richter Hanz
Published: April 2009

The problem of controlling several piezoelectric actuators using a smaller number of power drivers is considered. A multiplexed arrangement is examined where power and control are applied cyclically to subsets of actuators, introducing periodicity in the dynamics of the controlled plant. A model for the multiplexed scheme along with a periodic quadratic regulator are presented, as well as an observer-based arrangement. The feasibility of the proposed technique is demonstrated experimentally by using a single power driver to control a cantilever beam fitted with three piezoelectric actuators.
Tailored Current—Voltage Relationships of Droplet-Interface Bilayers Using Biomolecules and External Feedback Control
Authors: Sarles Stephen A. , Leo Donald J.
Published: April 2009

The development of a new class of active material based on the ion transport properties of functional biomolecules is introduced in this work. The new class of materials utilizes a recently developed technique known as the droplet-interface bilayer (DIB) to enable the reconstitution of biomolecules into a durable matrix. Methods to modify the current— voltage relationship across the bilayer, including the incorporation of proteins and the use of an external feedback loop, are explored. Electrical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry measurements are used to characterize the bilayers and indicate that a single DIB can be modeled as a resistor in parallel with a capacitor. Alpha-hemolysin proteins from Staphyloccus aureus cause a reduction in the resistance of the bilayer and exhibit current-rectification at positive cis potentials. Alamethicin proteins from Trichoderma viride produce a voltage-dependent conductance allowing the specific resistance (MΩ cm2) of the bilayer to be varied reversibly by 2—3 orders of magnitude. Feedback integral current control is demonstrated on pure 1,2-diphytanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine DIBs and provides accurate current tracking at a driving rate of 10 mHz and less. Proportional—integral voltage control applied to a DIB establishes a second-order frequency response where the natural frequency and damping ratio of the resonance can be selected.
It Is Not Just a Game!
Authors: Shubik Martin
Published: April 2009

An overall view of the development of gaming and simulation is presented. This includes a consideration of some observations on what had been predicted and what happened, as well as some predictions concerning the future. Stress is given to prediction based on what is technically feasible and prediction based on the sociopolitical environment. It is suggested that “to plan” is an irregular verb with four tenses: the past imperfect, the present unclear, the future perfect, and finally, the future probable.
Playful Urban Spaces
Authors: de Souza e Silva Adriana , Hjorth Larissa
Published: April 2009

This article provides a historical overview of the development of urban, location-based, and hybrid-reality mobile games. It investigates the extent to which urban spaces have been used as playful spaces prior to the advent of mobile technologies to show how the concept of play has been enacted in urban spaces through three historical tropes of urbanity: first, the transformation of Baudelaire’s flâneur into what Robert Luke (2006) calls the “phoneur”; second, the idea of dérive as used by situationist Guy Débord; and last, the wall subculture called parkour. The authors present a classification of the major types of mobile games to date, addressing how they reenact this older meaning of play apparent within these former tropes of urbanity. With this approach, they hope to address two weaknesses in the current scholarship—namely, differentiating among a range of types of games mediated by mobile technologies and assessing the important effects of playful activities.
Understanding the Safety Net
Authors: McHugh Megan , Kang Raymond , Hasnain-Wynia Romana
Published: April 2009

A challenge to investigating quality of care at safety-net hospitals is the absence of a standard method for identifying these hospitals. The authors identified three different, commonly used approaches for classifying hospitals as safety-net providers. Analyzing national data on hospital demographics and quality of care, they found little overlap among these three sets of hospitals. Under two definitions, safety-net providers clearly underperformed on quality compared with non-safety-net providers; under a third definition, results were mixed. How one defines safety-net providers can affect health services research outcomes and policy recommendations.