bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Parkin: Much More than a Simple Ubiquitin Ligase
Authors: Alves da Costa C. , Checler F.
Published: December 2011

Parkin is mainly a cytosolic protein involved in a subset of Parkinson’s disease (PD) cases referred to as autosomal juvenile recessive forms of PD. Most studies have established as a dogma that parkin function could be resumed as an ubiquitin ligase activity. Accordingly, several cellular functions ascribed to parkin derive from its ability to ubiquitinate a series of proteins, thereby rendering them prone to proteasomal degradation. Several lines of data indicated that parkin could display antiapoptotic properties and we demonstrated that indeed, parkin could downregulate the p53-dependent pathway. However, we showed that such function remained independent of parkin’s ability to act as an ubiquitin ligase. Thus, we established that parkin repressed p53 transcription by physically interacting with its promoter. Here, we describe this novel parkin-associated transcription factor function and we speculate on putative additional transcriptional targets.
From Morris Water Maze to Computer Tests in the Prediction of Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Laczó J. , Andel R. , Vyhnalek M. , Vlcek K. , Magerova H. , Varjassyova A. , Nedelska Z. , Gazova I. , Bojar M. , Sheardova K. , Hort J.
Published: December 2011

Background: Spatial navigation performance in the Hidden Goal Task (HGT), a real-space human analogue of the Morris Water Maze, can identify amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients with memory impairment of the hippocampal type, a known indicator of incipient Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Objective: Contrast results from computer versus real-space versions of the HGT. Methods: A total of 42 aMCI patients were clinically and neuropsychologically classified into: (1) memory impairment of the hippocampal type – the hippocampal aMCI (HaMCI; n = 10) and (2) isolated retrieval impairment – the nonhippocampal aMCI (NHaMCI; n = 32). Results were compared to the control (n = 28) and AD (n = 21) groups. Results: The HaMCI group, although similar to the NHaMCI group with respect to overall cognitive impairment, performed poorer on the computer version of the HGT and yielded parallel results to the real-space version. The two versions were strongly correlated. Conclusions: Both versions of the HGT can reliably identify aMCI with pronounced memory impairment of the hippocampal type. The computer version of the HGT may be a useful, relatively inexpensive screening tool for early detection of individuals at a high risk of AD.
Subsequent Risks of Parkinson Disease in Patients with Autoimmune and Related Disorders: A Nationwide Epidemiological Study from Sweden
Authors: Li Xinjun , Sundquist Jan , Sundquist Kristina
Published: December 2011

Objectives: To investigate associations between autoimmune disorders and Parkinson disease (PD), and to study whether the risk is associated with follow-up time and age. Methods: Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated for PD in patients with autoimmune disorders by comparing them to subjects without autoimmune disorders. Results: Among 310,522 patients with a total of 33 conditions of autoimmune disorders, 932 patients developed subsequent PD, giving an overall SIR of 1.33 and 1.19 for PD diagnosed later than 1 year after follow-up. Six types of autoimmune disorders showed an increased risk. These conditions included: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Graves’s disease/hyperthyroidism, Hashimoto’s disease/hypothyroidism, multiple sclerosis, pernicious anemia, and polymyalgia rheumatica. The risks depended on the age at hospitalization for PD. Conclusions: A 33% overall excess risk of PD was noted among patients with an autoimmune disorder; the risk was increased during the first 10 years of follow-up after hospitalization of autoimmune disorders.
Targeting Skp1, an Ubiquitin E3 Ligase Component Found Decreased in Sporadic Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Mandel Silvia A. , Fishman-Jacob Tali , Youdim Moussa B.H.
Published: December 2011

Microarray-derived transcriptomic studies in human substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) samples from sporadic Parkinson’s disease (SPD) cases have opened an avenue to concentrate on potential gene intersections or cross-talks along the dopaminergic (DAergic) neurodegenerative cascade in SPD. One emerging gene candidate identified by our group was SKP1A (p19, S-phase kinase-associated protein 1A), found significantly decreased in the SNpc. It is part of the SCF (Skp1, Cullin 1, F-box protein) complex, the largest class of sophisticated ubiquitin-proteasome/E3 ligases, and can directly interact with Fbxo7, a gene defective in PARK15-linked PD. In vitro target validation by viral-mediated RNA interference revealed that the deficiency of Skp1 in a mouse SN-derived DAergic neuronal cell line potentiated the damage caused by exogenous insults implicated in PD pathology and caused the death of neurons undergoing differentiation, which developed Lewy body-like, α-synuclein-positive inclusions preceding cell death. Furthermore, recent animal studies show that site-directed intranigral stereotaxic injections of lentiviruses targeting SKP1A induce pathological and behavioral deficits in mice, supporting a significant role of Skp1 in SN DAergic neuronal survival in SPD. Thus, strategies aimed at increasing the activity or content of Skp1 may represent a novel therapeutic approach that has the potential to treat PD.
Outcome of Twin Reversed Arterial Perfusion Sequence following Treatment with Interstitial Laser: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Scheier Matthias , Molina Francisca S.
Published: December 2011

Objectives: To determine the outcome of twin reversed arterial perfusion (TRAP) sequence treated with or scheduled for treatment with interstitial laser therapy. Methods: This is a retrospective study on ten pregnancies diagnosed with TRAP sequence. Seven of the ten pregnancies were treated with interstitial laser therapy, and two pregnancies were scheduled for later treatment. One pregnancy was treated with fetoscopic laser ablation and excluded from analysis. The delivery reports of all pregnancies were collected, the neonatal health status recorded and the median time of delivery and the treatment to delivery interval calculated. Results: Six of seven pump fetuses in TRAP pregnancies treated with interstitial laser therapy at a median of 16+2 (range 13+1 to 20+3) gestational weeks were born healthy at a median of 38+0 (range 34+3 to 40+6) gestational weeks. One fetus treated with interstitial laser died after the procedure at 20+3 weeks. Two pump twins scheduled for later treatment died before the gestational age of 16 weeks. The median treatment to delivery interval for the surviving fetuses was 153 days (range 128-194). Conclusion: Treatment of TRAP sequence by interstitial laser therapy is feasible from the 13th week of gestation and has a good outcome.
Mitochondrial Oxidative Stress in Aortic Stiffening With Age
Authors: Zhou Rui-Hai , Vendrov Aleksandr E. , Tchivilev Igor , Niu Xi-Lin , Molnar Kimberly C. , Rojas Mauricio , Carter Jacqueline D. , Tong Haiyan , Stouffer George A. , Madamanchi Nageswara R. , Runge Marschall S.
Published: December 2011

Objective—

Age-related aortic stiffness is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Although oxidative stress is implicated in aortic stiffness, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unelucidated. Here, we examined the source of oxidative stress in aging and its effect on smooth muscle cell (SMC) function and aortic compliance using mutant mouse models.

Methods and Results—

Pulse wave velocity, determined using Doppler, increased with age in superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2)
+/−
but not in wild-type, p47phox
−/−
and SOD1
+/−
mice. Echocardiography showed impaired cardiac function in these mice. Increased collagen I expression, impaired elastic lamellae integrity, and increased medial SMC apoptosis were observed in the aortic wall of aged SOD2
+/−
versus wild-type (16-month-old) mice. Aortic SMCs from aged SOD2
+/−
mice showed increased collagen I and decreased elastin expression, increased matrix metalloproteinase-2 expression and activity, and increased sensitivity to staurosporine-induced apoptosis versus aged wild-type and young (4-month-old) SOD2
+/−
mice. Smooth muscle α-actin levels were increased with age in SOD2
+/−
versus wild-type SMCs. Aged SOD2
+/−
SMCs had attenuated insulin-like growth factor-1-induced Akt and Forkhead box O3a phosphorylation and prolonged tumor necrosis factor-α–induced Jun N-terminal kinase 1 activation. Aged SOD2
+/−
SMCs had increased mitochondrial superoxide but decreased hydrogen peroxide levels. Finally, dominant-negative Forkhead box O3a overexpression attenuated staurosporine-induced apoptosis in aged SOD2
+/−
SMCs.

Conclusion—

Mitochondrial oxidative stress over a lifetime causes aortic stiffening, in part by inducing vascular wall remodeling, intrinsic changes in SMC stiffness, and aortic SMC apoptosis.
Spontaneous Ventricular Fibrillation in Right Ventricular Failure Secondary to Chronic Pulmonary Hypertension
Authors: Umar Soban , Lee Jong-Hwan , de Lange Enno , Iorga Andrea , Partow-Navid Rod , Bapat Aneesh , van der Laarse Arnoud , Saggar Rajeev , Saggar Rajan , Ypey Dirk L. , Karagueuzian Hrayr S. , Eghbali Mansoureh
Published: December 2011

Background—

Right ventricular failure (RVF) in pulmonary hypertension (PH) is associated with increased incidence of sudden death by a poorly explored mechanism. We test the hypothesis that PH promotes spontaneous ventricular fibrillation (VF) during a critical post-PH onset period characterized by a sudden increase in mortality.

Methods and Results—

Rats received either a single subcutaneous dose of monocrotaline (MCT, 60 mg/kg) to induce PH-associated RVF (PH, n=24) or saline (control, n=17). Activation pattern of the RV-epicardial surface was mapped using voltage-sensitive dye in isolated Langendorff-perfused hearts along with single glass-microelectrode and ECG-recordings. MCT-injected rats developed severe PH by day 21 and progressed to RVF by approximately day 30. Rats manifested increased mortality, and ≈30% rats died suddenly and precipitously during 23–32 days after MCT. This fatal period was associated with the initiation of spontaneous VF by a focal mechanism in the RV, which was subsequently maintained by both focal and incomplete reentrant wave fronts. Microelectrode recordings from the RV-epicardium at the onset of focal activity showed early afterdepolarization–mediated triggered activity that led to VF. The onset of the RV cellular triggered beats preceded left ventricular depolarizations by 23±8 ms. The RV but not the left ventricular cardiomyocytes isolated during this fatal period manifested significant action potential duration prolongation, dispersion, and an increased susceptibility to depolarization-induced repetitive activity. No spontaneous VF was observed in any of the control hearts. RVF was associated with significantly reduced RV ejection fraction (
P
<0.001), RV hypertrophy (
P
<0.001), and RV fibrosis (
P
<0.01). The hemodynamic function of the LV and its structure were preserved.

Conclusions—

PH-induced RVF is associated with a distinct phase of increased mortality characterized by spontaneous VF arising from the RV by an early afterdepolarization–mediated triggered activity.
A country not divided: A comparison of public punitiveness and confidence in sentencing across Australia
Authors: Roberts Lynne D , Spiranovic Caroline , Indermaur David
Published: December 2011

Changes to sentencing legislation are often introduced or justified on the basis of satisfying public opinion. If sentencing policy is a reflection of public opinion we should see a concordance between different sentencing policies and public opinion. This paper provides a comparison between Australian States and Territories in terms of two key measures of public attitude concerning sentencing: confidence in sentencing and punitiveness. These results are based on acomprehensive telephone survey ( N = 6005) of Australian adults which utilized a stratified random sample of households from the Electronic White Pages. It was found that there were only minor differences in the key measures of public attitude despite the notable differences between the States and Territories of Australia with respect to sentencing policy. Differences in public attitudes across jurisdictions were small, accounting for less than 2 per cent of variation in confidence in sentencing and punitive attitudes scores. In addition, despite the predicted moderately negative association between confidence in sentencing and punitiveness, neither of these variables was related in any systematic way to jurisdictional differences in imprisonment rates. The major implication of these findings is that the wide differences in sentencing practice and policy between jurisdictions in Australia are not linked to differences in public attitudes, supporting Beckett's (1997) argument that sentencing policy is better understood as a function of political initiative rather than a direct articulation of public attitude.
Lombroso's Jewish identity and its implications for criminology
Authors: Knepper Paul
Published: December 2011

Recovering Lombroso's Jewish identity is important for understanding the context in which he lived and worked. Italian statehood and positivist science had particular meaning relative to Jewish emancipation. Lombroso turned his back on Judaism and Jewish tradition, but interacted over the years with a circle of Jewish colleagues. Salvatore Ottolenghi, Pauline Tarnowsky, Helen Zimmern, Max Nordau and Jean Finot influenced his professional life in more than one way, as did members of his family, such as David Levi. Lombroso contributed to the defence of Jews from the surge of anti-Semitism in the late nineteenth century and he even managed a measure of critical analysis in his discussion of Jews and crime. Although he failed to overcome the prejudices and misconceptions at the centre of his outlook, the Lombroso who engaged ‘the Jewish question’ emerges as a more complicated and conflicted character than the Lombroso associated with ‘the criminal man’.
A comparative analysis of Australian sex offender legislation for sex offender registries
Authors: Vess James , Langskaill Brooke , Day Andrew , Powell Martine , Graffam Joe
Published: December 2011

Australia has followed the course taken by other English-speaking countries in recent years of enacting legislation that requires convicted sexual offenders to register personal details with law enforcement agencies. These laws have been enacted to protect the public from the perceived threat posed by sex offenders, but have been written with little apparent reference to the available research literature about the nature and extent of this threat. In addition, there is no empirical evidence supporting the effectiveness of legislatively based sex offender registries to either reduce sexual offending or to enable the police to investigate sex crimes and apprehend offenders. This article compares and contrasts the current laws governing sex offender registration enacted by the various states and territories in Australia, and offers a critical analysis of their provisions in light of the research literature on sexual offending.
Deliberating about terrorism: Prejudice and jury verdicts in a mock terrorism trial
Authors: Tait David
Published: December 2011

Juries in many Western countries are being asked to make decisions about defendants charged with terrorist-related offences, in situations where heightened anxieties and hostility to outgroups may make a fair trial difficult. What impact can deliberation have in addressing any such prejudice? This study estimates the impact of several forms of prejudice on juror verdicts in a mock terrorism trial. The study provides a more realistic setting than most previous studies, with an authentic heritage courtroom, actual jury assembly room and jury deliberation rooms in the NSW Supreme Court, a one-hour live trial and one-hour deliberation. Strong relationships are found between conviction rates and prior attitudes before jury discussion, consistent with other literature. Deliberation significantly reduces the proportion of guilty verdicts; it also reduces the impact on verdict of two forms of prejudice – fear of terrorism and punitiveness. On the other hand it tends to increase the impact of cognitive prejudice, measured both by a modified version of the Jury Bias Scale and a terrorism-specific scale based on attitudes to Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks.
Workers and the City: Rethinking the Geographies of Power in Post-socialist Urbanisation
Authors: Petrovici Norbert
Published: December 2011

In this article, the case of Cluj/Kolozsvar, regional capital of Transylvania, is analysed in order to uncover the geographies of power in which the workers, a category that has often been analytically silenced, have had an important role in reframing the landscape of the city. Principal component analysis is used to clarify the city’s socialist and post-socialist urbanisation processes, and the qualitative data show how the workers appropriated the urban space in a nationalist manner. The workers’ tactics had an important impact, from a relational perspective, on the spatial strategies of the emerging post-socialist middle class.
Rescue Geography: Place Making, Affect and Regeneration
Authors: Jones Phil , Evans James
Published: December 2011

This paper brings together two previously disengaged literatures on affect and place in order to investigate the importance of embodiment in transforming spaces into places. This brings into sharp relief the mismatch between policy rhetoric on the importance of sense of place and the outputs of regeneration schemes which often seem deliberately to efface these affective connections. The paper outlines the idea of ‘rescue geography’ as a technique for capturing the embodied relationship between communities and urban spaces prior to redevelopment. A case study using walked interviews in Birmingham’s Eastside district is discussed. It is concluded that capturing existing place associations can help to create more authentic regeneration schemes which respond sympathetically to landscapes already soaked in affective connections.
Building Community Resiliency: Spatial Links between Household and Business Post-disaster Return
Authors: Xiao Yu , Van Zandt Shannon
Published: December 2011

Rapidly urbanising areas along the world’s coasts are exposing greater numbers of households to more frequent and severe natural and man-made disasters. Knowledge gained from disaster situations can provide insight into larger urban forces and play a role in developing and prescribing policies that influence the creation of more resilient communities. This article explores the interdependency of households and businesses in post-disaster return following 2008’s Hurricane Ike in Galveston, Texas. Geocoded data from 980 households and 145 businesses collected in the months after the storm allow the spatial correlation of the household occupancy and business operation, controlling for damage. Findings suggest that the return of households and businesses are mutually dependent across space. The re-opening of businesses can influence nearby households’ decisions to return to their homes and the return of households in the market area will increase the chances for businesses to return.
Municipal Preferences for State-imposed Amalgamations: An Empirical Study Based on the Swedish Municipal Reform of 1952
Authors: Hanes Niklas , Wikström Magnus , Wångmar Erik
Published: December 2011

This paper concerns municipal preferences for state-imposed municipal amalgamations, focusing on factors that may explain municipal acceptance of, or objection to, a state-imposed amalgamation decision. The empirical analysis is based on the extensive municipal reform that occurred in Sweden in 1952, which reduced the number of municipalities from 2498 to 1037. In 66 per cent of the amalgamated cases, at least one municipality complained. The results show that income differences affected the willingness to amalgamate; high-income municipalities opposed amalgamation with less wealthy municipalities. The results also indicate that the size (absolute and relative) of the municipalities affected their willingness to amalgamate. Small and large municipalities were most likely to accept the amalgamation decision and equally sized municipalities were less likely to amalgamate voluntarily.
The Social Stratification of /r/ in New York City
Authors: Mather Patrick-André
Published: December 2011

This study, conducted among 169 participants in June 2009, is a methodological replica of Labov’s original study of the social stratification of /r/ in three New York City department stores. Results of the 2009 study are compared with Labov’s original survey and Fowler’s replica. Although the distribution patterns of /r/ remain the same as for the two previous studies in terms of stylistic, social, and phonological variables (word-final vs. preobstruent), there have been significant increases in the overall percentages by some 10 to 20 percent, and there are important differences in terms of the age distribution: the 2009 study suggests that lower-middle-class younger speakers use the [r]-less variant considerably less than older speakers, contrary to Labov’s original survey. In addition, although African American informants use less word-final /r/ than whites, especially in preobstruent position, they nevertheless follow the general pattern of stylistic and social differentiation according to the store, suggesting that African Americans are moving toward greater integration within the New York City speech community.
Budget Shortfalls, Employee Compensation, and Collective Bargaining in Local Governments
Authors: Reilly Thom , Reed Mark B.
Published: December 2011

The purpose of this study was to examine how local governments are responding to budget shortfalls and to explore how compensation practices across the United States are correlated to changes in service delivery. One hundred thirty-four of the largest cities and counties responded to a mail survey, for a response rate of 45 percent. A large percentage (95 percent) of local governments reported experiencing budget shortfalls. In response, local governments are reducing their workforces, laying employees off and/or utilizing reserves rather than raising taxes and/or scaling back wages and benefits. Type of government (county or city) and collective bargaining were associated with budget shortfalls. Despite the fiscal distress of governments, average cost of living increases were between 2 and 3 percent for each of the two years surveyed and nearly half of respondents reported increases in employee benefits (fewer than 10 percent reported any decreases). Collective bargaining was significantly associated with higher increases in benefits, increased cost-of-living adjustments, and responses to budget shortfalls.
Rightsizing Government
Authors: Anderson Janet
Published: December 2011

Public service providers everywhere are hearing the calls for government transformation, and a new wave of rightsizing initiatives has emerged under related concepts such as reengineering, restructuring and reorganization. With the scholarly literature largely focused on cases where cutback management has been practiced in recent decades, governments have been left to grapple with unsustainable fiscal and operational systems without any overarching logic, or guideposts, for change. Nowhere is this more evident than in the city of Detroit, where a swirl of initiatives in this decade has invoked different and potentially competing concepts of rightsizing: one, centered on comprehensive planning of the scope of local government, looking at its functions and organization; a second, centered on streamlining business processes within existing functions and organizations; and a third centered on consolidating the built environment so that public services can be more efficiently configured. Without adjusting the mix of service responsibilities within and across jurisdictions overlapping an area, it is hard to imagine that sustainable reforms of service delivery systems will be realized. A broad-based definition of the sources of a jurisdiction's problems must be demonstrated through data-driven analysis, so that all stakeholders can be engaged around a common roadmap for action.
Current Perspectives on the Identification and Assessment of Gifted Students
Authors: Pfeiffer Steven I.
Published: December 2011

Contemporary thinking challenges the view that giftedness and high IQ are synonymous. Contemporary thinking also challenges the view that being gifted is something real. A number of authorities in the gifted field advocate a paradigm shift; moving away from emphasizing categorical definitions of giftedness and adopting a talent development perspective. This shift to a developmental perspective advocates that we consider giftedness as the unfolding and transforming of uncanny potential among young children into actual outstanding performance and accomplishments in adulthood. The early identification and ongoing assessment of individuals of uncommon ability takes on a more complex, nuanced, and rich perspective when viewed from a developmental model.
The Socialist Housing Projects as Non-Places in Post-2000 Polish Literary and Cinematic Narratives
Authors: Svensson My
Published: December 2011

Beginning approximately a decade after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a cultural wave of various artistic representations of the socialist housing projects ( blokowisko in Polish) arose in Poland. Three such works, Krzysztof Bizio’s short story collection Zresztą latem wszystkie kwiaty są takie piękne [Besides, in Summer All Flowers are Beautiful] (2003), Robert Gliński’s feature film Cześć, Tereska [Hi, Tereska] (2001), and Sylwester Latkowski’s documentary Blokersi (2001), well illustrate this new cultural trend. A common feature of these works is the complete absence of cultural or national landmarks; the life of the protagonists revolves around the housing projects and the non-places of supermodernity. The atmosphere in the stories ranges from gloom to darkness and their endings are usually unresolved or tragic. However, despite the despair and even fatalism surrounding especially the young female characters, all of the protagonists manage to find spaces of refuge, where they can unlock their imagination. Drawing on Marc Auge’s study of the non-places of supermodernity and Michel Foucault’s concept of heterotopia, while comparing the works to the contemporaneous Swedish film Lilya 4-Ever (2001), this article emphasizes the transnational character of the blokowisko and its universal meaning as a non-place.
Abraham Tucker as an 18th-century William James: Stream of consciousness, role of examples, and the importance of writing
Authors: Billig Michael
Published: December 2011

This article discusses the psychological writings of the neglected 18th-century English philosopher Abraham Tucker and argues for his importance. The article explores the similarities between Tucker’s work and that of William James. It is suggested that both share a humorous and humane style, which concentrates on exploring concrete examples, especially from everyday life, rather than constructing abstract theories. Moreover, there are substantive similarities. Tucker, like James, saw consciousness occurring over time as a river or stream. Both stressed the importance of habit for individual and social life, and both depicted the infant as being overwhelmed by sensation. Tucker may have been neglected because he was “dethroning” the ideal of the conscious, rational ego before the importance of unconscious thinking had gained currency. This celebration of Tucker through the parallel with James has a critical purpose. Psychology is more than theory and methodology; it has to be written. Its rhetoric is important. The examples of James and Tucker show the value of warm-hearted writing.
Holocene history of intentional fires and grassland development on the Soni Plateau, Central Japan, reconstructed from phytolith and macroscopic charcoal records within cumulative soils, combined with paleoenvironmental data from mire sediments
Authors: Okunaka Ryota , Kawano Tatsuichiro , Inoue Jun
Published: December 2011

Phytolith and macroscopic charcoal in cumulative soils on the Soni Plateau, Central Japan, were evaluated to clarify the Holocene history of intentional fires and grassland development, and to compare the findings with those derived from pollen and charcoal records in sediments taken from a nearby mire in the previous study. Prior to ~1500 cal. BP, Bambusoid short-cell phytoliths and Pleioblastus-type and Bambusoideae-type bulliform cell phytoliths were abundant with scarce charcoal particles (<1000 particles/cm3). In contrast, since ~1500 cal. BP Andropogoneae-type bulliform cell phytoliths and Bilobate short-cell phytoliths were dominant with abundant charcoal particles (>1000 particles/cm3). Based on correlating these records with pollen and charcoal records in mire sediments, prior to ~1500 cal. BP, dwarf bamboo flourished on the forest floor under largely fire-free conditions, whereas since ~1500 cal. BP, grassland dominated by Japanese pampas grass has been sustained by periodic intentional burning that has continued until the present day.
Approximate Analytical Method for Damage Detection in Beam
Authors: Sayyad F. B. , Kumar Bimlesh
Published: December 2011

Damage in structure alters its dynamic characteristics. The change is characterized by change in modal parameters i.e., modal frequencies. Mostly modal frequencies are used for monitoring the crack because modal frequencies are properties of the whole component. Thus vibration technique can be suitably used as a nondestructive test for testing crack detection of component. In this article efforts are made to develop a suitable method that can serve as a basis for detection of crack location and crack size from measured axial vibration data. This method is used to address the inverse problem of assessing the crack location and crack size in various beam structure. The method is based on measurement of axial natural frequencies, which are global parameter and can be easily measured from any point on the structure. In theoretical analysis the crack is simulated by an equivalent axial spring, connecting the two segments of the beam. Analysis of this approximate model results in algebraic equation, which relates the natural frequencies of the beam and crack location. Also the relationship between the natural frequencies, crack location, and crack size has also been developed. For identification of crack location and crack size, it was shown that data on the variation of the first two natural frequencies is sufficient. The experimental analysis is done to verify the practical applicability of the theoretical method developed.
Impact Damage Resistance of CFRP Prepreg Laminates with Dispersed CSP Particles into Ply Interfaces
Authors: Ali Mubarak , Joshi Sunil C.
Published: December 2011

The effects of incorporating core shell polymer (CSP) particles within interply interfaces on the impact response of CFRP prepreg laminates are investigated. The impact tests were conducted on samples without and with CSP particles into the ply interfaces. The loads versus time curves were examined to determine the impact response and the associated energy absorption by the laminates were studied. The results indicate that both, the peak load of the laminates improved by 41% and damping index (DI) reduced by 90% with the dispersion of 51 g/m2 of CSP particles within the prepreg ply interfaces of the laminates. It was noted that the CSP particles shielded the composites from the initial severity of impact. The energy absorbing mechanisms altered the supercritical response of the laminate to subcritical due to increase in the elastic energy stored within the laminates with CSP particles thereby changing the energy absorption modes. It was observed from macroscopic observations and SEM images of the damage sites that the damage mechanism and patterns changed and the extent of damage reduced with the addition of CSP particles.
Refined Delamination Factor Failure Characterization of Composite Wind Turbine Blade
Authors: Nagarajan V. A. , Sundaram S. , Thyagarajan K. , Rajadurai J. Selwin , Rajan T. P. D.
Published: December 2011

Wind turbines are used to convert the kinetic energy of wind into useful power. The wind turbine blades are fabricated using glass fiber-reinforced composite materials. Wind turbine blades are complex section. In order to improve the strength of the blades under varying loading conditions, spars are embedded in it. The spars are fastened with the composite shells of the blades using bolted connections. In order to affect this fastening, holes of appropriate size were drilled in the composite laminates. Delamination is the major failure in composite blades which is induced during drilling. Delamination is quantitatively measured using digital means. A comparison between the conventional ( FD) and adjusted ( FDA) delamination factors is presented. In order to effectively quantify the delamination, refined delamination factor ( FDR) is proposed. It is found that the proposed FDR predicts the failure in a better manner when compared with predictive capabilities of FD as well as FDA.
Endovascular Approaches and Perioperative Considerations in Acute Aortic Dissection
Authors: Jazaeri Omid , Gupta Rajan , Rochon Paul J. , Reece T. Brett
Published: December 2011

Aortic dissections remain complicated management issues both in the acute setting and in the chronic setting. Acute problems revolve around malperfusion syndromes or rupture, whereas chronic issues progress from the development of aneurysms in the residual dissected aorta. Endovascular approaches to dealing with these difficult situations are being used more frequently to treat acute issues in type B dissections and prevent secondary complications in type A dissections that may require significant intervention in the future. This article discusses the endovascular approaches employed in the care of acute dissections with particular attention toward the anesthetic considerations involved in these challenging cases.
Rethinking cultural competence: Insights from indigenous community treatment settings
Authors: Wendt Dennis C. , Gone Joseph P.
Published: December 2011

Multicultural professional psychologists routinely assert that psychotherapeutic interventions require culturally competent delivery for ethnoracial minority clients to protect the distinctive cultural orientations of these clients. Dominant disciplinary conceptualizations of cultural competence are “kind of person” models that emphasize specialized awareness, knowledge, and skills on the part of the practitioner. Even within psychology, this approach to cultural competence is controversial owing to professional misgivings concerning its culturally essentialist assumptions. Unfortunately, alternative “process-oriented” models of cultural competence emphasize such generic aspects of therapeutic interaction that they remain in danger of losing sight of culture altogether. Thus, for cultural competence to persist as a meaningful construct, an alternative approach that avoids both essentialism and generalism must be recovered. One means to capture this alternative is to shift focus away from culturally competent therapists toward culturally commensurate therapies. Indigenous communities in North America represent interesting sites for exploring this shift, owing to widespread political commitments to Aboriginal cultural reclamation in the context of postcoloniality. Two examples from indigenous communities illustrate a continuum of cultural commensurability that ranges from global psychotherapeutic approaches at one end to local healing traditions at the other. Location of culturally integrative efforts by indigenous communities along this continuum illustrates the possibility for local, agentic, and intentional deconstructions and reconstructions of mental health interventions in a culturally hybrid fashion.
‘Mail-order brides’ in popular culture: Colonialist representations and absent discourse
Authors: Zare Bonnie , Mendoza S. Lily
Published: December 2011

Over the past decade clever marketing and wider access to the internet has led to the exponential growth of ‘mail-order’ marriage industries, vastly increasing the number of women who migrate for marriage using these commercial services. Taken within the context of global predatory capitalism, such phenomenon is of interest in that it appears to convene in its dynamics the intersecting operation of gender and class inequality, sexism, racism, and colonialism that, far from diminishing, seems only to further intensify with the increase in transnational cross-border traffic between populations. In this study, we investigate the complicity of knowledge-production practices within popular culture in the perpetuation of such dynamics within the ‘mail-order’ marriage industry. In particular, we focus on the politics of representation around the figure of the so-called ‘mail-order bride’ as produced in various genres and sites in North America over the past 15 years. Our study revealed, as expected, an intensely narrow and colonialist discourse constituting the women involved in such commercial transactions as commodity objects, victims, or victimizers. But, as well, we found five potentially counter-hegemonic works that serve to represent an alternative discourse that at least gestures toward a more diverse and complex representation of these women and of married life, employing devices such as irony, parody, spoofing, and other tongue-in-cheek references. However, as our conclusion demonstrates, despite such admirable interventions, some aspects of agency-arranged marriages remain utterly absent in North American popular culture, thereby perpetuating and ultimately failing to displace the dominant discourse on this population of women.
Effects of hydraulic nozzle flow rate and high injection pressure on mixture formation, combustion and emissions on a single-cylinder DI light-duty diesel engine
Authors: Rollbusch Carsten
Published: December 2011

Injection pressure and hydraulic nozzle flow rate are significant parameters that influence mixture formation and combustion in the direct injection (DI) diesel combustion process. An injection pressure increase enhances mixture formation as well as combustion. Decreasing the hydraulic flow rate, by means of reducing spray hole orifice diameter, affects mixture formation primarily through improved gas entrainment processes. Both injection pressure increase and hydraulic flow rate decrease therefore benefit mixture formation and combustion, which cause less soot emissions. Thus, the application of higher exhaust gas recirculation rates to decrease nitrogen oxide emissions is possible. The objective of this paper is to determine the effects of hydraulic flow rate variation in combination with very high injection pressures.

Engine tests are carried out using a single-cylinder research engine, which is based on a light-duty DI diesel engine. With a displacement of 755 cm3 per cylinder, the engines range between typical passenger car (≈ 500 cm3) and medium-sized heavy-duty (≈ 1000 cm3) engines. The engine is equipped with a prototype common rail fuel injection system that is capable of delivering system pressures larger than 250 MPa. Four different hydraulic nozzle layouts are tested. The effects are presented for one part load and one full load operating condition. For each engine operating point, exhaust gas recirculation variations with different injection pressure levels and boost conditions are conducted. Evaluation of engine test results is performed at a constant soot/nitrogen oxide emission ratio of 1:10, which is relevant in engine calibration. Hydraulic measurements and the application of an empirical spray model support the interpretation of the engine test results.

It is observed that a reduced hydraulic flow rate is beneficial for part load emission performance. It was found that a lower hydraulic flow rate causes a higher mean relative air/fuel ratio within the fuel spray and thus induces less soot formation. Moreover, the premixed fraction of combustion is enhanced through both injection pressure and hydraulic flow rate increases. In full load operation, the beneficial effect of reduced flow rates by means of smaller nozzle orifices cannot be detected. Parameters such as injection duration, combustion duration and spray momentum during spray/wall interaction are identified as more important. Boost pressure variation has only a minor effect on part load, whereas full load results are greatly influenced. In part load and full load operation, a limitation of the potential to reduce emissions is not observed within the investigated injection pressure range.
Interdisciplinary intellect
Authors: Alecia Singletary Kimberly
Published: December 2011

This article explores the role of the Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Advanced Collaboratory (HASTAC) in facilitating and encouraging a collaborative community of junior and senior scholars on issues of technology and humanistic learning. As a result of its emphasis on collaboration and discussion, HASTAC encourages a form of collective intelligence that can serve as a model for future iterations of online communities formed to address problems and highlight advances in teaching and technology. Written from the perspective of a graduate student who also is a HASTAC scholar, the article discusses the positive impact HASTAC can have in terms of opportunities for professional advancement for junior scholars, as well as encouraging collaboration across disciplinary boundaries on issues relating to teaching methodologies, the humanities, and technology.
Training humanities doctoral students in collaborative and digital multimedia
Authors: Ensslin Astrid , Slocombe Will
Published: December 2011

This study reports on the pedagogic rationale, didactic design and implications of an AHRC-funded doctoral training scheme in collaborative and digital multimedia in the humanities. In the second part of this article we discuss three areas of provision that were identified as particularly significant and/or controversial. These include (1) desktop publishing and information design for academic posters, (2) quantitative, corpus-based approaches to text analysis, and (3) a discussion of the affordances and constraints of ‘collaborative’ Web 2.0 based research as reflected by participants and relevant theory.
Impaired alternative macrophage differentiation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from obese subjects
Authors: Bories Gael , Caiazzo Robert , Derudas Bruno , Copin Corinne , Raverdy Violeta , Pigeyre Marie , Pattou Francois , Staels Bart , Chinetti-Gbaguidi Giulia
Published: December 2011

Visceral obesity is a chronic, low-grade inflammatory disease that predisposes people to the metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and its cardiovascular complications. Adipose tissue is not a passive storehouse for fat, but an endocrine organ synthesizing and releasing a variety of bioactive molecules, some of which are produced by infiltrated immune-inflammatory cells including macrophages. Two different subpopulations of macrophages have been identified in adipose tissue: pro-inflammatory ‘classical’ M1 and anti-inflammatory ‘alternative’ M2 macrophages, and their ratio is suggested to influence the metabolic complications of obesity. These macrophages derive primarily from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). We hypothesised that obesity and the metabolic syndrome modulate PBMC functions. Therefore, alteration of the monocyte response, and more specifically their ability to differentiate toward alternative anti-inflammatory macrophages, was assessed in PBMCs isolated from lean and obese subjects with or without alterations in glucose homeostasis. Our results indicate that PBMCs from obese subjects have an altered expression of M2 markers and that their monocytes are less susceptible to differentiate toward an alternative phenotype. Thus PBMCs in obesity are programmed, which may contribute to the inflammatory dysregulation and increased susceptibility to inflammatory diseases in these patients.
Does exercise training change physical activity in people with COPD? A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Cindy Ng Li Whye , Mackney Jenny , Jenkins Sue , Hill Kylie
Published: December 2011

A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to examine the effect of exercise training on daily physical activity (PA) in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched from their inception to week 27 of 2010, using the keywords ‘COPD,’ ‘exercise,’ ‘therapy’ and ‘physical activity.’ All studies except case reports were eligible for inclusion provided they investigated the effects of ≥4 weeks of supervised exercise training on PA in patients with COPD. Study quality for the randomised trials (RTs) and single-group interventional studies was rated using the PEDro scale and Downs and Black Tool, respectively. No randomised controlled trials met our study criteria. The two RTs had a mean PEDro score of 5. The 5 single-group studies had a mean Downs and Black score of 19 ± 3. When combined, a small effect on PA outcomes was demonstrated (overall mean effect = 0.12; p = 0.01). Taken together, the RTs and single-group studies demonstrate that exercise training may confer a significant but small increase in PA.
Teaching Safety at a Summer Camp
Authors: Lawson Karla A. , Duzinski Sarah V. , Wheeler Tareka , Yuma-Guerrero Paula J. , Johnson Kelly M. K. , Maxson R. Todd , Schlechter Robert
Published: December 2011

Objectives: The purpose of this project was to evaluate a water safety curriculum in a low-income, minority-focused, urban youth summer camp. The curriculum is available to Safe Kids Coalitions across the country; however, it has not previously been evaluated. Methods: Participants were pre-K to third-grade students ( n = 166). Children watched a video and received the curriculum in a classroom setting. Each child was given a pre-, post-, and 3-week retention exam to assess knowledge change. Mean test scores and number of safety rules participants could list were analyzed using paired Student’s t tests. Parents were given a baseline survey at the beginning ( n = 140) and end of the weeklong curriculum ( n = 118). Results: The participants were 50% male, 27.5% Hispanic, 68.7% African American, and 3.8% biracial. Children were divided into three groups: pre-K/kindergarten, first and second grade, and third grade. Children in each of the groups received higher knowledge scores at the posttest ( p = .0097, p < .0001, and p < .0001, respectively), with little decline in scores at the 3-week retention exam. Similar results were seen for the ability to list safety rules, though the number fell slightly between the posttest and retention test. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that children possessed more knowledge of water safety after receiving this curriculum. This knowledge increase was maintained through the 3-week retention exam. Further evaluation of the curriculum’s content and its impact on water safety beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors are needed, as well as evaluation of additional settings, risk areas, and the role of parental involvement.