bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Recombinant Human Erythropoietin Mitigates Reductions in Renal Klotho Expression
Authors: Sugiura Hidekazu , Yoshida Takumi , Mitobe Michihiro , Shiohira Shunji , Nitta Kosaku , Tsuchiya Ken
Published: July 2010

Background: Erythropoietin (EPO) and Klotho expression have both been detected in the kidney. Since a recent study suggested that both EPO and Klotho mitigate kidney damage, we explored the relation between EPO and Klotho in a doxorubicin hydrochloride (DXR)-induced rat nephropathy model treated with recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO). Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to DXR-induced nephropathy. The rhEPO group was intracutaneously injected with rhEPO twice weekly at 4–16 weeks after the DXR injection. The rats were sacrificed at 16 weeks after the DXR administration. Expression of renal Klotho, HSP70, α-smooth-muscle actin and E-cadherin were assessed using real-time PCR or western blotting. The hematocrit, plasma creatinine and phosphate levels were also determined. Immunohistochemical studies and Masson-trichrome staining were performed. Results: The renal Klotho mRNA and Klotho protein expressions were significantly reduced in the DXR nephropathy group. Treatment with rhEPO improved the serum creatinine, phosphate level and histological changes observed in the DXR nephropathy group. The reduction in Klotho expression induced by DXR nephropathy was mitigated by rhEPO administration. Conclusion: rhEPO is involved in the pathophysiology of DXR nephropathy. rhEPO mitigated elevated plasma phosphate concentrations in an experimental model of chronic kidney disease via the expression of Klotho.
Presence of Deep White Matter Lesions on Diffusion-Weighted Imaging Is a Negative Predictor of Early Dramatic Improvement after Intravenous Tissue Plasminogen Activator Thrombolysis
Authors: Kawano Hiroyuki , Hirano Teruyuki , Inatomi Yuichiro , Terasaki Tadashi , Yonehara Toshiro , Uchino Makoto
Published: July 2010

Background: The impact of deep white matter lesions observed at the corona radiata on diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI-W lesions) on the clinical recovery of patients after tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) therapy is unclear. Our goal was to elucidate whether DWI findings before tPA could predict clinical recovery. Methods: A total of 83 consecutive patients with hyperacute anterior circulation ischemic stroke were enrolled. All patients underwent MRI within 3 h and received intravenous tPA. The relationships among the Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) on DWI (DWI-ASPECTS), DWI-W lesions, early dramatic improvement (≧10-point reduction in the total National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, NIHSS, score or a total NIHSS score of 0–2 after 24 h), early improvement (≧4-point reduction in the total NIHSS score after 24 h) and worsening (≧4-point increase in the total NIHSS score after 24 h) were assessed. Results: The median of the baseline DWI-ASPECTS value was 9 (range: 5–10), and DWI-W lesions were found in 36 patients (43%). Patients with early dramatic improvement had a shorter time from onset to tPA (116.1 ± 34.9 vs. 133.2 ± 33.1 min; p = 0.0281) and higher DWI-ASPECTS (medians: 9 vs. 9; p = 0.0568). DWI-W lesions were seen less frequently in patients with than without early dramatic improvement (26 vs. 54%; p = 0.0213). Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that absence of DWI-W lesions (OR: 1.80; 95% CI: 1.08–3.13; p = 0.0279), higher ASPECTS (OR: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.06–2.46; p = 0.0346) and shorter time from onset to tPA (OR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.97–0.99; p = 0.0429) were independent predictors of early dramatic improvement. Conclusions: DWI-ASPECTS and DWI-W lesions appear to be useful tools for predicting early dramatic improvement.
Pyongyang's Survival Strategy: Tools of Authoritarian Control in North Korea
Authors: Byman Daniel , Lind Jennifer
Published: July 2010

Speculation about the future of the North Korean regime has been intense for nearly two decades. In the 1990s, economic crises and famine led to predictions of the Kim regime's imminent downfall. Today analysts highlight impending famine as well as threats to the regime's position brought by eroding information control. Several theories of authoritarian control help to explain how Kim Jong-il and his family have remained in power and how this might change over time. The Kim regime has employed a variety of authoritarian “tools” to protect itself both from popular revolt and from internal coups. Its social policies, reliance on certain ideas and nationalism, and use of force prevent the onset of revolution. Through numerous other tools (elite co-optation, manipulation of foreign governments for financial aid, and the “coupproofing” of domestic institutions), the regime protects itself from coups d'état and elite unrest. This framework not only helps to explain the past resilience of the regime, but it suggests that the regime is not in danger of being unseated by coups or revolution. Yet it also suggests that the regime has not adequately prepared for succession after Kim's death. This analysis has implications for policy planning about the future of the Korean Peninsula, as well as for negotiations with and coercive strategies toward Pyongyang.
The Illusion of Liberal Internationalism's Revival
Authors: Kupchan Charles A. , Trubowitz Peter L.
Published: July 2010

Over the past two decades, political polarization has shaken the domestic foundations of U.S. grand strategy, sorely testing bipartisan support for liberal internationalism. Stephen Chaudoin, Helen Milner, and Dustin Tingley take issue with this interpretation, contending that liberal internationalism in the United States is alive and well. Their arguments, however, do not stand up to careful scrutiny. Their analysis of congressional voting and public opinion fails to demonstrate the persistence of bipartisanship on foreign policy. Indeed, the partisan gap that widened during George W. Bush's administration has continued during the presidency of Barack Obama, confirming that a structural change has taken place in the domestic bases of U.S. foreign policy. President Obama now faces the unenviable challenge of conducting U.S. statecraft during an era when consensus will be as elusive at home as it is globally.
De L'Influence Du Ganglion Sus-Oesophagien Sur Les Fonctions Du Pied De L'Escargot (Helix Pomatia Linné) 1)
Authors: Postma N.
Published: July 2010

En opposition aux resultats obtenus précédemment nous avons constaté que le ganglion sus-oesophagien de l'Helix pomatia Linné a une influence evidente sur le tonus du muscle pedieu. La seule presence du ganglion n'a pas d'influence: l'ablation du cerveau ne modifie pas la tonicite. Le ganglion cerebral agit sur le pied de l'escargot en modifiant la tonicite dans le sens positif ou dans le sens negatif, c'est-a-dire en augmentant ou en diminuant le myotonus. Selon 1'etat fonctionnel ou d'activite du ganglion nous distinguons quatre phases d'activite. En commençant a observer 1'activite a son minimum et en passant par ces phases progressives, nous pouvons noter successivement: i. Freinage du centre sous-oesophagien inhibiteur; 2. Moderation du centre excitateur dans le ganglion pédieu; 3. Stimulation du centre sub-oesophageal tonolytique; 4. Renforcement du centre accelerateurdans le ganglion pédieu, et deux phases de compensation, etats d'equilibre, l'un entre i et 2,1'autre entre 3 et 4. Les phases I et 4 causent un accroissement du tonus, tandis qu'une baisse du tonus est produite par les phases 2 et 3. L'effet de la derniere est accompagnee par un d6écalage de la contractilite. On peut augmenter 1'activite du ganglion au moyen d'im-pressions proprioceptives suscitées par l'allongement lui-meme ou par l'intermédiaire d'influx exteroceptifs, causes par 1'application de chlorure de sodium au ganglion (excitation permanente). L'activite cephalique peut etre supprimée si l'on applique du chlorure de cocaine au cerveau. Concernant le tonus musculair nous concluons qu'il est base sur une contracture qui probablement joue un role comme fonc- tion de calage a regard d'un lot tetanique de la tonicite. Chez l'Helix neanmoins la contracture a la priorite si un tetanos se produit.
Deux nouvelles attributions au Maître des Madones joufflues
Authors: Martens Didier
Published: July 2010

The Master of the Madonnas with the Chubby (cheeks is a Bruges painter from the early sixteenth century who was strongly influenced by Gerard David. Some ten works were attributed to this master on stylistic grounds in 2000. Two further attributions- both of a Madonna and Child - are proposed in this article. The paintings in question are a panel in the Groennigemuseum in Bruges (inv. no. O.GRO. 1358.1, fig. 1), which is derived from a composition, the Lisbon Madonna, by Memling, and a tondo (fig. 2) that was on view at the TEFAF in Maastricht in March of 2001.
'In kompagnie geordonneert en geschildert'. Een onderzoek naar de ontstaansgeschiedenis van het Aardse Paradijs van Peter Paul Rubens en Jan Brueghel d.O
Authors: Tamis Dorien
Published: July 2010

Jan Brueghel the Elder and Peter Paul Rubens: what was their respective contributions to Adam and Eve in Paradise, the painting in the Mauritshuis at The Hague the two artists produced in collaboration? Early eighteenth-century authors such as Houbraken and Weyerman assumed their shares were equal, but opinions differ considerably in scholarly art-historical literature. In order to gain more insight into the nature of the collaboration, Adam and Eve in Paradise, is first compared with other joint efforts by the two artists. A second approach is to examine the pictorial sources used for (elements of) the painting. Finally tracing the genesis of the work step by step from the purchase of the panel to the placement of the signature yields information about the progress of the collaboration. What the examination of the painted surface of Adam and Eve in Paradise reveals about the sequence of the operation is in accordance with what can be deduced from Jan Brueghel the Younger's diary entries about works for which another figure painter was recruited. It confirms that Jan Brueghel the Elder must have been the initiator and seller of the The Hague painting. But it is Rubens' artistry that makes the painting unique, and his contribution to the composition is particularly evident from the pictorial sources. The whole is more than merely the sum of the parts painted by the two artists: it is a genuine partnership, which must have involved mutual consultation.
Gilles I Coignet: De Waarheid verheven?
Authors: Miedema Hessel
Published: July 2010

A painting by Gillis Coignet of I596 (fig. I) which recently appeared on the art market shows an allegory whose explicit meaning is unclear, there being no text in the cartellino in the lower left-hand corner. The representation is based on a type derived from Democritus of Time releasing Truth from oblivion, vainly obstructed by negative forces such as envy and falsehood. The type, which was illustrated previously by Coignet (fig. 4) is based on the vignette of the Venetian publisher Francesco Marcolini ("Veritas filia temporis") (fig. 3). In Coignets painting there can however be no question of Time, for the depicted figure, a winged grey-haired man, in goat-footed legs, which identifies him as Pan, who stands for the revealed universe but in Platos Kratylos 408 BC is interpreted as the language which indicates everything ("TO IIâν") both for good and evil, so that he is pictured from above as a human being and at the bottom as a goat. Although the two figures cannot be identified precisely, Coignet has evidently transformed an existing theme with the aid of mythographical interpretations into an allegory which may be understood in this sense: the naked female figure symbolises a pure principle (truth, righteous judgement, vita contemplativa), Pan, his head glowing golden from the sky above, indicates human understanding, i.e. human endeavour. Small scenes in the background indicate a religious context, which may be connected with the fact that Coignet had just moved house for the second time, probably for religious reasons.
Über Die Lichtempfindlichkeit Der Ambulakralfüsschen Des Seesterns (Asterias Rubens)
Authors: Van Weel P.B.
Published: July 2010

1 . Die Ambulakralfüsschen und wahrscheinlich auch die Terminaltentakel von Asterias rubens sind lichtempfindlich. 2. Es gibt ein Lichtminimum, ein Optimum und ein Maximum. (Veilleicht ist das Licht imstande eine gewisse Hemmung einzuschalten). 3. Auch die Haut ist lichtempfindlich. 4. Es ist sehr wahrscheinlich, dass die Haut den Organismus bei drohender Gefahr, d.h. wenn plötzlich ein beweglicher Schatten auf die Haut fällt, "warnen" kann. Schliesslich möchte ich meinem verehrten Lehrer, Herrn Prof. Dr. H. J. JORDAN für seine Kritik, und meinem Freund, Herrn H. HIRSCH, für seine Verbesserung des Manuskriptes herzlichst danken.
The Three Species of Trogontherium, With a Remark On Anchitheriomys
Authors: Schreuder A.
Published: July 2010

Three species of Trogontherium have existcd in Eurazia. The geologically oldest is the beaverrat-sized Upper-Pliocene Trog. minus Newton of the lowest strata (Nodule Bed) of the Red Crag in East-Anglia and in the Astian fauna of Roussillon. It also occurred in Siberia. The type skull of the beaver-sized Trog. boisvilletti (Laugel) has been found in St. Prest, near Paris, and all the isolated skeleton bones are known from the Trogontherium Clay of Tegelen in the Netherlands, where this gnawer was abundant among an Upper-Villafranchian fauna (Archidiskodon meridionalis, (archaeic type), Eucladoceros, Sus strozzii, Leptobos, Mimomys pliocaenicus, etc.) of the Günz-interstadium. Of the third species, Trog. cuvieri Fischer, the jaws and teeth were distinctly larger and the skull more specialized by the existance of a ductus pneumaticus cranii, similar to that of the American Castoroides. The sands of Mosbach yielded the richest material of this species. The generic name of Amblycastor (MATTHEW, 1918) has to give way to that of Anchitheriomys (ROGER, 1898) for the beaver-sized Upper-Miocene castorid of the holarctic area, because the diagnosis of the genus Amblycastor (STIRTON, 1935) fits exactly Anchitheriomys the knowledge of which has been considerably augmented by SEEMANN (1938).
The Capitalist State and Education
Authors: Antikainen Ari
Published: July 2010

This article discusses the transforming capitalist welfare state and its education system, and focuses especially on the Nordic model of welfare state and education in Finland. It shows how restructuring processes towards the competition state are proceeding on both policy and institutional levels. Nevertheless, the basic structures of the Nordic model or pattern and especially the principles of public education and the comprehensive and local school are left intact. By applying an institutional approach in the analysis, a new path generation and institutional patterns are emerging, but their legitimization and establishment will take a long time. Changes in policy and organization are much faster to occur than those in sociocultural settings. Such success stories as the Danish labour market reform and the rise of the Finnish knowledge-intensive ICT cluster have paved the way for this transformation. There is still a possibility that a welfare state strategy and a competition state strategy will coexist.
Neoliberal Restructuring in Education and Health Professions in Europe
Authors: Beach Dennis
Published: July 2010

This article is based on a meta-analysis of previous research on restructuring in relation to education and health professions in Europe and more globally. It highlights common developments and signals the significant and important role of specific cycles of public to private transformation in production relations in these professions over the course of the last century and a successive movement of labour from the domestic sphere of the home to private industry as commoditized labour power, as among the most significant common global features. State involvement has been an important intermediary in these processes, by which relationships that were formerly largely untainted by commerce have become relationships involving the direct buying and selling of labour power. The process of the creation of economically productive labour power also seems to be expanding in scope in the professions, with negative consequences for service workers, low-GDP countries and lower-class fractions of recipient-consumers worldwide.
Sound Absorption Behavior of Knitted Spacer Fabrics
Authors: Yanping Liu  , Hong Hu
Published: July 2010

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the sound absorption behavior of knitted spacer fabrics. Both weft-knitted and warp-knitted fabrics were used in the study due to their different structure features. The weft-knitted spacer fabric used was composed of two varied plain knitted outer layers and one textured polyester multifilament spacer layer, and it was considered as a porous sound absorber. The warp-knitted spacer fabric used was made with mesh structure on the outer layers and monofilament yarn in the spacer layer, and it was considered as microperforated panel sound absorber. The noise absorption coefficients (NACs) of these two kinds of fabrics under both single and multilayer forms as well as their combinations were tested using a two-microphone impedance measurement tube. The results show that the fabric surface structure and thickness, spacer yarn type and their connecting ways, fabric combinations and their arrangement methods have significant effects on the sound absorbability. The results also demonstrate that good sound absorbability could be achieved by using knitted spacer fabrics if suitable fabric structures and combinations are used.
What Makes a Distinguished Black Psychologist? An Empirical Analysis of Eminence
Authors: White Aaronette M. , Williams Robert L. , Majzler Robert D.
Published: July 2010

The present study is a qualitative analysis of the autobiographical narratives and contributions of 34 psychologists who have received the Association of Black Psychologists’ (ABPsi) Distinguished Psychologist Award. The award is one example of how ABPsi engages in activities that sustain its unique Afrocentric collective identity, activities referred to in the social movement literature as “identity work.” Although distinguished Black psychologists do not represent a homogeneous group, all tend to possess strong leadership skills, demonstrate some degree of creative productivity, and display an improvisational style of resilient survival skills. Their careers focus on issues that concretely and materially affect people of African descent. First-person autobiographical accounts of awardees are important documents in the history and ongoing development of Black psychology and serve as valuable teaching and mentoring tools. They provide the basis for identifying future distinguished talent among ABPsi members and for shaping the creative development of undergraduate and graduate students.
Disturbance rejection of switched systems subject to actuator saturation
Authors: Junyan Yu  , Long Wang  , Guangming Xie
Published: July 2010

Several disturbance rejection problems for switched continuous-time/discrete-time systems with saturating actuators are addressed. We focus our attention on the synthesis of feedback control laws to reject the disturbance for the systems under the designed switching signals, and sufficient conditions are derived for disturbance rejection. Furthermore, we consider switched continuous-time/discrete-time systems with time-varying uncertainties, and design robust switched control laws to reject the disturbance for any time-varying uncertainties. Two numerical examples are worked out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design technique.
A Comparison of Item Selection Techniques for Testlets
Authors: Murphy Daniel L. , Dodd Barbara G. , Vaughn Brandon K.
Published: July 2010

This study examined the performance of the maximum Fisher’s information, the maximum posterior weighted information, and the minimum expected posterior variance methods for selecting items in a computerized adaptive testing system when the items were grouped in testlets. A simulation study compared the efficiency of ability estimation among the item selection techniques under varying conditions of local-item dependency when the response model was either the three-parameter-logistic item response theory or the three-parameter-logistic testlet response theory. The item selection techniques performed similarly within any particular condition, the practical implications of which are discussed within the article.
A Mixture Rasch Model With Item Response Time Components
Authors: Meyer J. Patrick
Published: July 2010

An examinee faced with a test item will engage in solution behavior or rapid-guessing behavior. These qualitatively different test-taking behaviors bias parameter estimates for item response models that do not control for such behavior. A mixture Rasch model with item response time components was proposed and evaluated through application to real test data and a simulation study. The analysis of extant data indicated that a two-class solution fit better than a one-class solution and that 15% of examinees engaged in rapid-guessing behavior. Moreover, solution behavior examinees had substantially higher average ability scores than rapid-guessing examinees. Results of the simulation study indicated that the parameters were recovered well.
Interpretation of the Three-Parameter Testlet Response Model and Information Function
Authors: Ip Edward H.
Published: July 2010

The testlet response model is designed for handling items that are clustered, such as those embedded within the same reading passage. Although the testlet is a powerful tool for handling item clusters in educational and psychological testing, the interpretations of its item parameters, the conditional correlation between item pairs, and the testlet information function are not always clear. For example, the a-parameter in a testlet response model, which is sometimes referred to as the discrimination parameter and interpreted in the conventional way, is often directly compared to the a-parameter in standard item response models. In this article, it is argued that despite the deceptively similar forms of the a-parameters, such interpretation and comparison can be misleading. A marginalized version of the testlet model is introduced to derive quantities that are comparable to standard item response models. This mean (marginalization) of the function approach is contrasted with the temptingly simple but inappropriate function of the mean approach, in which the testlet effect is set to its mean of zero in respective equations for item response, correlation, and information functions. Testlet data collected from a science assessment within the National Assessment of Educational Progress are used to illustrate the subtle differences in the interpretations of the various response models.
Interpersonal Injustice and Workplace Deviance
Authors: Ferris D. Lance , Spence Jeffrey R. , Brown Douglas J. , Heller Daniel
Published: July 2010

The authors integrated predictions from the group value model of justice with an esteem threat framework of deviance to examine the within-person relation between interpersonal justice and workplace deviance. Using a moderated-mediation approach, they predicted that daily interpersonal injustice would lower daily self-esteem; daily self-esteem would in turn mediate the effect of daily interpersonal injustice and interact with trait self-esteem in predicting daily workplace deviance. Using 1,088 daily diary recordings from 100 employees from various industries, the results generally support the hypothesized model linking daily interpersonal justice and daily workplace deviance, even when the effects of previously established mediators (i.e., affect and job satisfaction) were controlled for. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
Relationships among achievement goal motivation, impulsivity, and the music practice of collegiate brass and woodwind players
Authors: Miksza Peter
Published: July 2010

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between observed practice behaviors consistent with conceptions of deliberate practice (Lehmann & Ericsson, 1997) and the performance achievement of collegiate wind players ( N = 55). The secondary purpose of this study was to explore relationships among observed practice behaviors, performance achievement, and individual differences in impulsivity and achievement goal motivation. Participants completed: (1) a 23-minute practice session; (2) pre- and post-test measures of performance achievement; (3) a researcher-adaptation of the Elliot and McGregor (2001) 2 x 2 Achievement Goal Questionnaire; (4) the Eysenck Impulsiveness Questionnaire for Adults (Eysenck, Pearson, Easting, & Allsop, 1985); (5) the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (1985); and (6) a researcher-constructed practice habit questionnaire. Reliability results for all measures and observations were acceptable. Results indicated: (1) significant positive correlations between performance achievement and the observed behaviors ‘repeat two to four measure chunk,’ ‘whole-part-whole,’ ‘slowing,’ ‘chaining,’ and ‘use of metronome;’ (2) significant negative correlations between performance achievement and the behaviors ‘varying pitch’ and ‘singing, whistling, buzzing;’ (3) a significant increase in performance achievement from pre- to post-test with less impulsive participants having higher scores at both points in time; and (4) several significant correlations between impulsiveness and achievement goal motivation sub-scales and observed practice behaviors.
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Activation of the Brain in Children: Real Acupoint Versus Sham Acupoint
Authors: Wu Yun , Jin Zhen , Li Ke , Lu Zhong-Li , Wong Virginia , Han Tong-Li , Zheng Hua , Caspi Opher , Liu Gang , Zeng Ya-Wei , Zou Li-Ping
Published: July 2010

The purpose was to examine the brain activation patterns with acupuncture using real acupoint (Liv3) versus sham acupoint in healthy, sedated children using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Functional magnetic resonance imaging scans of the brain for 10 healthy, sedated children were taken during stimulation of real acupoint (Liv3 [Taichong]) and a nearby sham acupoint in a randomized order, employing twisting and nontwisting methods using a blocked paradigm using a 2.0-T scanner. The functional data were analyzed by using SPM 99. Various regions of the brain were activated in 2 acupoints. However, the pattern was different for the 2 acupoints. We suggest specific cerebral activation patterns with acupuncture might explain some of its therapeutic effect.
The Influence of Nightingale Rounding by the Liaison Nurse on Surgical Patient Families With Attention to Differing Cultural Needs
Authors: Neils Priscilla E.
Published: July 2010

This article is a tribute to Florence Nightingale whose book Notes on Nursing was published 150 years ago in 1860. Nightingale was a proponent of rounding on patients to ensure their environment contributed to healing. Patients and their families experience greater satisfaction when a registered nurse rounds on them. The liaison nurse provides the connection between a surgical patient and the family in the waiting room. This activity promotes communication and spiritual support for family members who will participate in patient care both during hospitalization and after the patient returns home. Nursing theorists support the interconnectedness that takes place during rounding. Story theory directs the nurse to connect with the patient’s story so that holistic care, recognizing body, mind, and spirit, can take place. High-touch/low-tech as practiced in Asia includes nurse—family interaction, integrating knowledge about the patient’s history and preferences with nursing assessment, planning, interventions, and evaluation of care. Nursing diagnoses support critical thinking for the nurse during rounding and interaction with family members. Hospice care includes family stories, humor, and the comfort of presence of loved ones.
Defining a Caring Hospital by Using Currently Implemented Survey Tools
Authors: Jennings Nancy
Published: July 2010

Health care organizations are constantly striving to provide a more cost-effective and higher quality treatment within a caring environment. However, balancing the demands of regulatory agencies with the holistic needs of the patient is challenging. Further challenging is how to define those hospitals that provide an exceptional caring environment for their patients. By using survey tools that are already being administered in hospital settings, the opportunity exists to analyze the results obtained from these tools to define a hospital as a caring organization without the added burden of separate data collection.
Imagined publics and engagement around renewable energy technologies in the UK
Authors: Barnett Julie , Burningham Kate , Walker Gordon , Cass Noel
Published: July 2010

Against the backdrop of the imperatives for actors within the institutional framework of energy socio-technical systems to engage with the public, the aim of this paper is to consider interdependencies between the principles and practice of engagement and the nature of the imagined publics with whom engagement is being undertaken. Based on an analysis of 19 interviews with actors in the renewable energy industry, the paper explores how publics are imagined in the construction of the rationales, functions and mechanisms for public engagement. Three main themes are identified. First, the perceived necessity of engagement – which is not contingent on public responsiveness. Second, engagement is primarily conceptualised in terms of instrumental motives of providing information and addressing public concern. Third, preferences for engagement mechanisms were often a function of the specific characteristics attributed to imagined publics. Implications of this analysis for future engagement around siting renewable energy technologies are considered.
Developing a Short Form of the Simple Rathus Assertiveness Schedule Using a Sample of Adults With Sickle Cell Disease
Authors: Jenerette Coretta , Dixon Jane
Published: July 2010

Purpose: Ethnic and cultural norms influence an individual’s assertiveness. In health care, assertiveness may play an important role in health outcomes, especially for predominantly minority populations, such as adults with sickle cell disease. Therefore, it is important to develop measures to accurately assess assertiveness. It is also important to reduce response burden of lengthy instruments while retaining instrument reliability and validity. The purpose of this article is to describe development of a shorter version of the Simple Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (SRAS). Design: Data from a cross-sectional descriptive study of adults with sickle cell disease were used to construct a short form of the SRAS, guided by stepwise regression analysis. Results: The 19-item Simple Rathus Assertiveness Scale—Short Form (SRAS-SF) had acceptable reliability (α = .81) and construct validity and was highly correlated with the SRAS ( r = .98, p = .01). Conclusions: The SRAS-SF reduces response burden, while maintaining reliability and validity.
The Meaning of Widowhood and Health to Older Middle-Class Hindu Widows Living in a South Indian Community
Authors: Czerenda A. Judith
Published: July 2010

Indian widowhood has long been associated with victimization and vulnerability, but traditional attitudes toward widowhood are changing and reflect the rapid changes occurring in India. Using Caring Inquiry, a phenomenological-hermeneutic methodology that places caring at its center, this article presents a study that explores the meaning of health and widowhood to 14 older middle-class Hindu widows living in urban South India. From the data emerge six metathemes that are pertinent to nursing praxis and the delivery of health care to widows in South India: (a) Drawing From Within, (b) Seeking Help and Guidance, (c) Accepting the Role, (d) Challenging Tradition, (e) Serving Others, and (f) Finding Companionship. The findings reveal that all the widows share a common desire to move on with life, articulated by one widow as “The Show Must Go On,” which serves as a foundation for a theory and model of the meaning of widowhood and health to older middle-class South Indian Hindu widows. This study advances the limited body of knowledge on the lives and health of these widows.
An Integrative Approach to Cultural Competence Education for Advanced Practice Nurses
Authors: Tuck Inez , Moon Martha W. , Allocca Paula N.
Published: July 2010

A project funded by Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) provided the impetus for the development of four cultural competence modules taught in a graduate program at a university-based school of nursing. These modules have been consistently taught for 6 years. The authors describe the modules’ content, educational strategies, required faculty training, and evaluation and measurement of outcomes. The authors recommend use of the modules and make suggestions for future implementation. Cultural competence is essential for 21st-century practice. The impending national and global health care crises require educational approaches that are cost-effective and tested. These modules are recommended to meet this educational challenge.
Retention of Native American Nurses Working in Their Communities
Authors: Katz Janet R. , O'Neal Gail , Strickland C. June , Doutrich Dawn
Published: July 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of Native American nurses working in their tribal communities to address retention. Design: An interpretive phenomenological study guided by a Native American research agenda and a Native American nursing practice model. Methods: In-depth interviews with nine Native American nurses were conducted. Data analysis used interpretive phenomenological procedures including an iterative process with Native American consultants and researchers to develop themes. Conclusions: Native American nurses experienced a great deal of stress and illness as they attempted to fulfill their mission to help their people. The three themes were: (a) paying the price to fulfill my mission, (b) being and connecting holistically, and (c) transcending the system. Recommendations include strategies for nurse educators, tracking the ethnicity of nurses in each Indian Health Service area, documenting their reasons for leaving, and conducting further research to develop community-based interventions to improve retention.
Stigmatization of Persons With HIV/AIDS in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Badahdah Abdallah M.
Published: July 2010

Data about the stigmatization of persons living with HIV/AIDS in Saudi Arabia are scarce. Recent statistics from Saudi Ministry of Health showed that 77% of HIV-positive Saudis were males. The present study analyzed data from 162 Saudi male college students. The findings suggest that students who knew less about HIV/AIDS were more likely to stigmatize persons living with HIV/AIDS than those who knew more. Neither degree of religiosity nor worry about HIV infection was related to AIDS stigma. However, AIDS-related shame was the best predictor of AIDS stigma. The findings of this study point to important suggestions for AIDS prevention programs in Saudi Arabia.
Generalized Projective Synchronization for the Horizontal Platform Systems via an Integral-type Sliding Mode Control
Authors: Pai Neng-Sheng , Yau Her-Terng
Published: July 2010

In this paper, an integral-type sliding mode controller design for generalized projective synchronization of two horizontal platform systems (HPS) is considered. The concept of extend systems is used such that continuous control input is obtained using a sliding mode design scheme. Based on the Lyapunov stability theorem, control laws are derived. It is guaranteed that under the proposed control law, an uncertain slave chaotic HPS can asymptotically track a master chaotic HPS. The converging speed of error states can be arbitrarily set by assigning the corresponding dynamics to the sliding surfaces. Numerical simulations are shown to verify the results and this control law can be applied to another chaotic system of the same design scheme.
“First You Have To Get Outside”: Reflecting on the Ecological Location of Qualitative Research
Authors: Whiteman Gail
Published: July 2010

Most methodology books do not explain how nature—or in the author’s case, heavy wet snow and swampy muskeg—can be an intrinsic part of a qualitative research design. Yet the author’s inability to make sense of the subarctic not only limited her preliminary qualitative analysis, but this lack of skill also nearly killed her. This article describes the author’s emergent belief that first-hand situated knowledge of the local ecology is an essential requirement of effective qualitative inquiry in social—ecological contexts. The author uses data from two ethnographic studies that were published in the Academy of Management Journal (2000) and Organization & Environment (2004) to illustrate this point. She discusses how the local ecology affected her qualitative research design in terms of access, type of data collected, and interpretation of local management practices. The author closes by calling for a renaturing of qualitative inquiry especially as it relates to research on sustainability.
Inequality, Democracy, and the Environment
Authors: Downey Liam , Strife Susan
Published: July 2010

This article sets forth a new theoretical model that holds that local, regional, and global environmental crises are to a significant degree the product of organizational, institutional, and network-based inequality, which provide economic, political, military, and ideological elites with the means to create and control organizational and network-based mechanisms through which they (a) monopolize decision-making power; (b) shift environmental and nonenvironmental costs onto others; (c) shape individuals’ knowledge, attitudes, values, beliefs, and behavior; and (d) frame what is and is not considered to be good for the environment. These undemocratic mechanisms produce severe environmental harm because they provide elites with the means to achieve goals that are often environmentally destructive and because they are sometimes environmentally destructive in and of themselves, as is the case with military power. After situating their study in the broader literature, the authors describe their theoretical model in detail and present three case studies that identify some of the most important mechanisms through which elites exert power and harm the environment.
Cities, Slums, and Energy Consumption in Less Developed Countries, 1990 to 2005
Authors: Jorgenson Andrew K. , Rice James , Clark Brett
Published: July 2010

Theories in urban political economy and environmental sociology are engaged to assess the extent to which energy consumption in less developed countries is affected by different urban characteristics. Results of first-difference panel model estimates for a sample of less developed countries yield two noteworthy findings. From 1990 to 2005, growth in energy consumption was positively associated with growth in overall urban population and negatively associated with growth in the percentage of a population residing in urban slum conditions. The two divergent effects hold, net of multiple human ecological and political-economic controls. The authors conclude by highlighting the theoretical implications of the findings and the need for more nuanced approaches in future research on such topics.
HLA-DRB1*1501 tagging rs3135388 polymorphism is not associated with neuromyelitis optica
Authors: Matiello Marcelo , Schaefer-Klein Janet , Brum Doralina G , Atkinson Elizabeth J , Kantarci Orhun H , Weinshenker Brian G , the NMO genetics collaborators
Published: July 2010

Background: Association of the HLA-DRB1*1501 allele with multiple sclerosis is well established, but its association with neuromyelitis optica has only been evaluated in small populations.

Methods: We performed a case-control genetic association study to evaluate the association of HLA-DRB1*1501 with neuromyelitis optica. The single nucleotide polymorphism rs3135388, which tags HLA-DRB1*1501, was genotyped in 164 patients with neuromyelitis optica, 220 patients with multiple sclerosis and 959 controls matched for age, gender and ethnicity. Genotyping for rs3135388 was performed by Taqman-based 5' nuclease assay.

Results: Rs3135388*A was positively associated with multiple sclerosis (OR = 3.93; 95% CI = 2.58—5.97, p = 1.18 × 10-09) but negatively associated with NMO (OR = 0.57; 95% CI = 0.36—0.91, p = 0.01).

Conclusions: Multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica differ in their associations with DRB1*1501.
What have we learnt from 20 years of economic research into culture?
Authors: Herrmann-Pillath Carsten
Published: July 2010

Economics is undergoing a process of methodological naturalization, i.e. further converging with the sciences. Simultaneously, in past decades there has been an upsurge of interest in the role of culture in the economy. Yet this does not imply an opening up to the humanities, both in the broad sense and in the sense of cultural studies. This article is a stock-taking exercise. I briefly summarize recent economic work on culture and show that this is lacking a systematic theory of culture. This compares with the strong fusion of economics and the humanities, especially historical studies, at the turn from the 19th to the 20th century, in continental Europe, especially Germany. Looking for theoretical foundations of cultural analysis in contemporary economics, the notion of cognitive schemes looms large, seen as a device to deal with uncertainty. Interestingly, this concurs with some views in biological anthropology, and thus fits into the naturalization trend. However, there are many difficulties in what turns out to be close to functional reductionism. This points towards an alternative approach in economics as well, which centres around the notion of identity. I argue that, even in the context of naturalization, identity is significant precisely for its non-functional dimensions, for instance, as a group marker that is resistant to corrosion because of the lack of incentives for functional imitation between groups. This almost paradoxical role of identity explains why economics has troubles with culture, which, on the one hand seems to be ephemeral to economic processes in general, but on the other can obtain strong causal impact depending on idiosyncratic contextual conditions. This stalemate can only be resolved if economics begins to consider creative actions that establish and change identities on both the individual and collective level. I argue that this perspective leads back to the origins of the discipline, in particular Adam Smith in his role as a moral philosopher.
Creative industries and informal economies
Authors: Lobato Ramon
Published: July 2010

Since the emergence of its video industry in the 1990s, Nigeria has pioneered an innovative and highly successful model of film production and distribution. Lagos is now home to the fastest-growing film industry in the world, which releases well over 1000 titles a year without assistance from the government, NGOs or international film festivals. This article analyses the rise of ‘Nollywood’ through the lens of current debates in creative industries research. The Nigerian video economy offers compelling evidence of the role of informal markets in creating efficient and economically sustainable media industries. Its success also has implications for debates around copyright and media piracy. I conclude that reading Nigerian video as an informal creative industry can be a useful way to rematerialize media studies in the overdeveloped world.
An international instrument for international cultural policy
Authors: Aylett Holly
Published: July 2010

This article lays out the contexts informing a unique, international instrument for policy and the development of creative works: the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, 2005. It argues that culture needs to be defended against those interested in including cultural services in global trade negotiations at the World Trade Organization, and demonstrates how the Convention may be implemented to give cultural agendas an equal status alongside economic, social and environmental issues that currently determine policy for development. It gives analysis of some of the key articles and suggests that although the instrument will have to be tested legally, it provides the framework for national policy to build sustainable infrastructures in recognition that diversity of cultural expressions is central to the well-being of our societies.
Humanitarianism
Authors: Tester Keith
Published: July 2010

This article argues that humanitarianism is a theme in the popular culture and politics of contemporary Britain which repays close analysis. Humanitarianism is identified as a strand of the ‘social imaginary’ through which conceptions of Britishness seek to understand the world and the place of Britain within it. Commitment to the social imaginary is secured through ‘group charisma’ which ties social subjects to it by means of assertions about the unique importance of the nation in the moral improvement of the world. This article identifies humanitarianism as a theme through which Britain deals with postcolonial melancholia and the problems of being an ‘old country’ marginalized in the present. The focus of the discussion is on two films: the cinema release Amazing Grace (2007) which focused on the 19th-century abolition of the slave trade and the broadcast film The Girl in the Café (2005) which was, in its turn, a romance about the eradication of world poverty. It is proposed that if these two films are subjected to cultural and social as opposed to textual analysis it is possible to explore why humanitarianism is so important to contemporary imaginations about — and commitments to — Britain.
Sampling ‘Hard to Reach’ Populations in Qualitative Research
Authors: Abrams Laura S.
Published: July 2010

Sampling is an integral component of all research designs. Several qualitative research texts offer practical guides on how to theorize, recruit, and retain a sample to fulfill the aims of a given study. However, there is far less published discussion among qualitative researchers about sampling ‘hard to reach’ populations such as transient youth and young adults, homeless people, IV drug users, sex workers, and incarcerated, institutionalized, or cognitively impaired individuals. In this article, the author presents an overview of qualitative sampling, including its underlying assumptions, major methodological traditions, common characteristics, and standards of assessment. Next, the article identifies several challenges related to sampling hard to reach populations that are of particular relevance for qualitative research. Drawing on an example of a longitudinal qualitative study of incarcerated youth, these challenges are then discussed in relation to the assessment of ‘quality’ in qualitative research.
Reading Strauss from the Start
Authors: Chacón Rodrigo
Published: July 2010

It has often been noted that Leo Strauss developed his understanding of political philosophy through a critical engagement with Heidegger. Yet most analyses focus on Strauss’s American works while neglecting his earlier response during the crisis years of the Weimar Republic. The article seeks to overcome this limitation by ‘deconstructing’ Strauss’s American definitions of political philosophy in light of both his Weimar understanding of politische Wissenschaft and his 1922 discovery of Heidegger’s Aristotle. I argue that Strauss’s conception of political philosophy originated in Heidegger’s subversion of the traditional distinction between theory and praxis. I thus propose a way to read Strauss from the start following his own changing views of that distinction.