bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Immunohistochemical Characteristics of Intramural Leiomyomata That Enlarge during Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation for in vitro Fertilization
Authors: Zeyneloglu Hulusi B. , Esinler Ibrahim , Ozdemir Binnaz H. , Haydardedeoglu Bulent , Oktem Mesut , Batioglu Sertac
Published: January 2008

Background/Aims: This study aimed to determine the immunohistochemical characteristics of intramural leiomyomata that enlarged during controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) for in vitro fertilization (IVF). Methods: For thisretrospective case-control clinical study and immunohistochemical analysis, 5 patients with enlarged intramural leiomyomata during COH for IVF, who had undergone myomectomy immediately after a failed IVF cycle, were recruited retrospectively. Fifteen consecutive patients who had had myomectomy for intramural leiomyomata <5 cm, but had never undergone any infertility treatment, served as the control group. Histological examinations and immunohistochemical staining with proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and fibronectin were performed on all specimens taken from the study and control groups. The main outcome measures were defined as histological and immunohistochemical scores. Results: Hematoxylin and eosin as well as PCNA staining showed increased mitotic index, cellularity and proliferation index in these growing leiomyomata (study group). There were neither increased mitoses nor cellularity in the leiomyomata of the control group, while PCNA, TGF-β and fibronectin scores in the study group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < 0.001). Conclusion(s): This study is the first to report increased TGF-β, PCNA, cellularity and mitosis in leiomyomata enlarging during COH for IVF. Further studies with larger sample size are needed to determine the role of TGF-β, PCNA and fibronectin in the growth of leiomyomata during COH.
Cranial Thromboembolism Secondary to Patent Foramen Ovale and Deep Venous Thrombosis after Cesarean Section
Authors: Bodur Harika , Caliskan Eray , Anik Yonca , Cakiroglu Yigit , Corakci Aydin
Published: January 2008

Background: Paradoxical embolism via a patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a rare event in the puerperium as a cause of stroke. Case: We report a 21-year-old, G4P3A1 woman with the symptoms of convulsion, stroke and unconsciousness 1 week after cesarean delivery. An infarction was detected in both frontal lobes, and echocardiography and MRI confirmed the PFO. Her follow-up course with low-molecular-weight heparin and then warfarin for 6 months was uneventful. Conclusion: Patients with an unexplained arterial event should be screened for PFO and possible paradoxical embolism.
Gemcitabine plus Capecitabine Combination in Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients Previously Treated with Anthracyclines and Taxanes
Authors: Benekli Mustafa , Yildiz Ramazan , Uner Aytug , Er Ozlem , Yamac Deniz , Alkis Necati , Coskun Ugur , Camci Celalettin , Buyukberber Suleyman
Published: January 2008

Background: Treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) exposed to anthracyclines and taxanes is challenging. Effective and well-tolerated regimens are required. Gemcitabine plus capecitabine combination was assessed in MBC patients pretreated with anthracyclines and taxanes. Patients and Methods: A total of 31 patients treated between November 2004 and September 2005 were retrospectively evaluated in 4 institutions. The median age was 48 years (range 29–77). The patients were given gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8, and capecitabine 1,500 mg/m2 twice daily on days 1–14 every 3 weeks. Results: A total of 160 cycles of chemotherapy were administered with a median of 5 cycles per patient (range 2–12). Three patients achieved a partial response (10%) and 8 patients (26%) stable disease. The median time to disease progression was 6 months (95% CI 5–7), with a median survival of 18 months (95% CI 15–21) at a median follow-up of 16 months (range 2–28). One-year and 2-year survival rates were 67 and 28%, respectively. Grade 3–4 toxicities were as follows: neutropenia (n = 11, 35%), nausea and vomiting (n = 4, 13%), hand-foot syndrome (n = 2, 6%), anemia (n = 2, 6%), thrombocytopenia (n = 2, 6%) and asthenia (n = 1, 3%). Conclusion: The combination of gemcitabine plus capecitabine was a tolerable regimen with a mild but comparable survival efficacy to similar regimens in patients with MBC after anthracyclines and taxanes.
Fractured Cybertales: Navigating the Feminine
Authors: Davis Juliet
Published: January 2008

The author considers ways in which her interactive artworks “fracture” narratives relating to femininity and critique web-design conventions that often encode these narratives. In the process, she discusses how interactive media and electronic culture provide unique opportunities for exploring gender.
Leonardo, Nonlinearity and Integrated Systems
Authors: Clothier Ian M.
Published: January 2008

In one of his lesser-known studies of flow, Leonardo da Vinci in 1513 came upon yet another question he could not answer: When blood hits the wall of the heart, does the flow split in two? In 1977, this question was answered by Albert Libchaber in an experiment that became a cornerstone of chaos theory. Can Leonardo's question, Libchaber's solution and notions of integrated systems be drawn together to create a whole? While this trajectory has its limitations, the journey has some rewards, taking in Leonardo's cosmology, chaos theory, poststructuralist philosophy, the Polynesian worldview, the Internet and the weather.
Art Embodies A-Life: The VIDA Competition
Authors: Tenhaaf Nell
Published: January 2008

Artificial Life artworks hold a unique place in the art world, one that has been largely mapped by the VIDA international competition through its annual recognition of outstanding works based on A-Life. Works that have received awards since the VIDA competition began in 1999 (25 prize-winning artworks and 56 honorary mentions) have gained viewer appreciation and popularity at the same level as any other kind of art. Yet these works define a territory of their own, delineated here through characteristics of A-Life art that arise from both the artist's studio and the research lab and that mark the 25 awarded artworks. Following this article, the Leonardo VIDA Gallery presents a selection of eight prize-winning works that show the breadth of the competition to date; each is discussed here.
Letterpress Language: Typography as a Medium for the Visual Representation of Language
Authors: Drucker Johanna
Published: January 2008

This examination of three works by Johanna Drucker, 26 '76 (1976), from A to Z (1977) and Against Fiction (1983), all printed letterpress, focuses on the formal properties of typography and its capacity to extend the meaning of a written text. Handsetting metal type necessarily focuses one's attention on the specificity of written language as a sequence of discrete letters. Each has properties of size, weight and shape; and placement and type styles can be widely varied. The technical constraints of letterpress tend to conserve the norm in the representation of language: line after straight line of a single typeface. The author's intention in deviating from these norms has been to extend, rather than negate or deny, the possibilities of meaning by encouraging plural readings at the levels of the word, the line and the page. Other issues such as the relation of language to experience, to literary tradition or to the social context in which it is produced are investigated.
Unsupervised Learning of Individuals and Categories from Images
Authors: Waydo Stephen , Koch Christof
Published: January 2008

Motivated by the existence of highly selective, sparsely firing cells observed in the human medial temporal lobe (MTL), we present an unsupervised method for learning and recognizing object categories from unlabeled images. In our model, a network of nonlinear neurons learns a sparse representation of its inputs through an unsupervised expectation-maximization process. We show that the application of this strategy to an invariant feature-based description of natural images leads to the development of units displaying sparse, invariant selectivity for particular individuals or image categories much like those observed in the MTL data.
Deterministic Neural Classification
Authors: Toh Kar-Ann
Published: January 2008

This letter presents a minimum classification error learning formulation for a single-layer feedforward network (SLFN). By approximating the nonlinear counting step function using a quadratic function, the classification error rate is shown to be deterministically solvable. Essentially the derived solution is related to an existing weighted least-squares method with class-specific weights set according to the size of data set. By considering the class-specific weights as adjustable parameters, the learning formulation extends the classification robustness of the SLFN without sacrificing its intrinsic advantage of being a closed-form algorithm. While the method is applicable to other linear formulations, our empirical results indicate SLFN's effectiveness on classification generalization.
The Berkeley Wavelet Transform: A Biologically Inspired Orthogonal Wavelet Transform
Authors: Willmore Ben , Prenger Ryan J. , Wu Michael C.-K. , Gallant Jack L.
Published: January 2008

We describe the Berkeley wavelet transform (BWT), a two-dimensional triadic wavelet transform. The BWT comprises four pairs of mother wavelets at four orientations. Within each pair, one wavelet has odd symmetry, and the other has even symmetry. By translation and scaling of the whole set (plus a single constant term), the wavelets form a complete, orthonormal basis in two dimensions.

The BWT shares many characteristics with the receptive fields of neurons in mammalian primary visual cortex (V1). Like these receptive fields, BWT wavelets are localized in space, tuned in spatial frequency and orientation, and form a set that is approximately scale invariant. The wavelets also have spatial frequency and orientation bandwidths that are comparable with biological values.

Although the classical Gabor wavelet model is a more accurate description of the receptive fields of individual V1 neurons, the BWT has some interesting advantages. It is a complete, orthonormal basis and is therefore inexpensive to compute, manipulate, and invert. These properties make the BWT useful in situations where computational power or experimental data are limited, such as estimation of the spatiotemporal receptive fields of neurons.
Two Computational Regimes of a Single-Compartment Neuron Separated by a Planar Boundary in Conductance Space
Authors: Lundstrom Brian Nils , Hong Sungho , Higgs Matthew H. , Fairhall Adrienne L.
Published: January 2008

Recent in vitro data show that neurons respond to input variance with varying sensitivities. Here we demonstrate that Hodgkin-Huxley (HH) neurons can operate in two computational regimes: one that is more sensitive to input variance (differentiating) and one that is less sensitive (integrating). A boundary plane in the 3D conductance space separates these two regimes. For a reduced HH model, this plane can be derived analytically from the V nullcline, thus suggesting a means of relating biophysical parameters to neural computation by analyzing the neuron's dynamical system.
Discrimination with Spike Times and ISI Distributions
Authors: Kang Kukjin , Amari Shun-ichi
Published: January 2008

We study the discrimination capability of spike time sequences using the Chernoff distance as a metric. We assume that spike sequences are generated by renewal processes and study how the Chernoff distance depends on the shape of interspike interval (ISI) distribution. First, we consider a lower bound to the Chernoff distance because it has a simple closed form. Then we consider specific models of ISI distributions such as the gamma, inverse gaussian (IG), exponential with refractory period (ER), and that of the leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF) neuron. We found that the discrimination capability of spike times strongly depends on high-order moments of ISI and that it is higher when the spike time sequence has a larger skewness and a smaller kurtosis. High variability in terms of coefficient of variation (CV) does not necessarily mean that the spike times have less discrimination capability. Spike sequences generated by the gamma distribution have the minimum discrimination capability for a given mean and variance of ISI. We used series expansions to calculate the mean and variance of ISIs for LIF neurons as a function of the mean input level and the input noise variance. Spike sequences from an LIF neuron are more capable of discrimination than those of IG and gamma distributions when the stationary voltage level is close to the neuron's threshold value of the neuron.
A Classification Method to Distinguish Cell-Specific Responses Elicited by Current Pulses in Hippocampal CA1 Pyramidal Cells
Authors: Ambros-Ingerson José , Grover Lawrence M. , Holmes William R.
Published: January 2008

The suprathreshold electrophysiological responses of pyramidal cells have been grouped into large classes such as bursting and spiking. However, it is not known whether, within a class, response variability ranges uniformly across all cells or whether each cell has a unique and consistent profile that can be differentiated. A major difficulty when comparing suprathreshold responses is that slight variations in spike timing in otherwise very similar traces render traditional metrics ineffective.

To address these issues, we developed a novel distance measure based on fiducial points to quantify the similarity among traces with trains of action potentials and applied it together with classification techniques to a set of in vitro patch clamp recordings from CA1 pyramidal cells. We tested if responses to repeated current stimulation of a given cell would cluster together yet remain distinct from those of other cells.

We found that depolarizing and hyperpolarizing current pulses elicited responses in each cell that clustered and were systematically distinguishable from responses in other cells. The fiducial-point distance measure was more effective than other methods based on spike times and voltage-gradient phase planes. Depolarizing traces were more reliably differentiated than hyperpolarizing traces, and combining both scores was even more effective.

These results suggest that each CA1 pyramidal cell has unique properties that can be detected and quantified with methods discussed here. This uniqueness may be due to slight variations in morphology or membrane channel densities and kinetics, or to large, coordinated variations in these elements. Ascertaining the actual sources and their degree of variability is important when constructing network models of neural function to ensure that key mechanisms are robust in the face of variations within these ranges. The analytical tools presented here can assist in constructing detailed cell models to match experimental records to elucidate the sources of electrophysiological variability in neurons.
A New Multineuron Spike Train Metric
Authors: Houghton Conor , Sen Kamal
Published: January 2008

The Victor-Purpura spike train metric has recently been extended to a family of multineuron metrics and used to analyze spike trains recorded simultaneously from pairs of proximate neurons. The metric is one of the two metrics commonly used for quantifying the distance between two spike trains; the other is the van Rossum metric. Here, we suggest an extension of the van Rossum metric to a multineuron metric. We believe this gives a metric that is both natural and easy to calculate. Both types of multineuron metric are applied to simulated data and are compared.
Robust Boosting Algorithm Against Mislabeling in Multiclass Problems
Authors: Takenouchi Takashi , Eguchi Shinto , Murata Noboru , Kanamori Takafumi
Published: January 2008

We discuss robustness against mislabeling in multiclass labels for classification problems and propose two algorithms of boosting, the normalized Eta-Boost.M and Eta-Boost.M, based on the Eta-divergence. Those two boosting algorithms are closely related to models of mislabeling in which the label is erroneously exchanged for others. For the two boosting algorithms, theoretical aspects supporting the robustness for mislabeling are explored. We apply the proposed two boosting methods for synthetic and real data sets to investigate the performance of these methods, focusing on robustness, and confirm the validity of the proposed methods.
Messages of Oscillatory Correlograms: A Spike Train Model
Authors: Schneider Gaby
Published: January 2008

Oscillatory correlograms are widely used to study neuronal activity that shows a joint periodic rhythm. In most cases, the statistical analysis of cross-correlation histograms (CCH) features is based on the null model of independent processes, and the resulting conclusions about the underlying processes remain qualitative. Therefore, we propose a spike train model for synchronous oscillatory firing activity that directly links characteristics of the CCH to parameters of the underlying processes. The model focuses particularly on asymmetric central peaks, which differ in slope and width on the two sides. Asymmetric peaks can be associated with phase offsets in the (sub-) millisecond range. These spatiotemporal firing patterns can be highly consistent across units yet invisible in the underlying processes. The proposed model includes a single temporal parameter that accounts for this peak asymmetry.

The model provides approaches for the analysis of oscillatory correlograms, taking into account dependencies and nonstationarities in the underlying processes. In particular, the auto- and the cross-correlogram can be investigated in a joint analysis because they depend on the same spike train parameters. Particular temporal interactions such as the degree to which different units synchronize in a common oscillatory rhythm can also be investigated. The analysis is demonstrated by application to a simulated data set.
Testing the function of song-matching in birds: responses of eastern male song sparrows Melospiza melodia to partial song-matching
Authors: Searcy William , Anderson Rindy , Nowicki Stephen
Published: January 2008

Song-matching has been hypothesized to be a signal of aggressive intentions whereby matching an opponent signals that the singer is likely to attack. Theory predicts that an aggressive signal should impose a cost that enforces the signal's reliability. A receiver-dependent cost imposed by the matched bird's aggressive retaliation has been proposed for song-matching. We tested for such a cost for partial song-matching in an eastern population of song sparrows where males lack the shared song types necessary for song type matching, but can perform partial song-matching using shared song segments. We tested aggressive response, as measured by average distance to a playback speaker, to partial-matching songs and non-matching songs. We predicted a stronger aggressive response to partial-matching songs, as has been shown for whole song-matching in western song sparrow populations. The birds in our study responded no differently to partial-matching and non-matching songs. Neither the distance to the playback speaker nor singing responses differed between playback treatments. Our results do not support a receiver-dependent cost to partial song-matching, as would be expected if partial-matching is a direct threat. Instead, we suggest that partial song-matching functions as a signal of attention.
The silk tuft web decorations of the orb-weaver Gasteracantha cancriformis : testing the prey attraction and the web advertisement hypotheses
Authors: Gawryszewski Felipe , Motta Paulo
Published: January 2008

Several orb-web spiders build conspicuous decorations in their webs. The prey attraction hypothesis proposes that decorations increase spider foraging success by attracting prey, and that attraction is linked to UV reflectance. Alternatively, the web advertisement hypothesis proposes that decorations are a signal that advertises the presence of the web to large animals. We tested both hypotheses for the web silk tufts of Gasteracantha cancriformis. Even though tufts are UV reflective, we did not find support for the prey attraction hypothesis. In the field, when webs with tufts painted black and control webs were compared, there were no differences in the number of prey captured, number of damaged areas in webs and type of prey captured. In the laboratory, Drosophila melanogaster did not demonstrate preference for tufted silk lines versus non-tufted silk lines. Our data also did not give support for the web advertisement hypothesis. The proportion of web destruction was similar between web with tufts painted black and control webs during four days of experimentation. Therefore, two of the most favoured hypotheses that attempt to explain decorations do not apply for web silk tufts in our study system. Instead we propose that silk tufts might be an aposematic signal.
Active space of chemical alarm cue in natural fish populations
Authors: Wisenden Brian
Published: January 2008

Chemical cues released from injured fish skin during a predator attack provide reliable information about the presence of predation risk. Here, I report estimates of the area avoided by littoral fishes after experimental release of chemical alarm cues in two small lakes in northern Minnesota. Minnow traps were labeled chemically with either water (control) or skin extract (chemical alarm cue) made from 2 cm2 of cyprinid skin (redbelly dace in experiment 1, fathead minnows in experiment 2). Traps labeled with water were placed 1, 2, or 8 m from traps labeled with alarm cue. After 2 h, water-traps that were either 1 or 2 m distant from an alarm-trap caught significantly fewer fish than water-traps 8 m distant from alarm-traps. Conspecific and heterospecific skin extract produced similar area avoidance by fathead minnows. Redbelly dace showed a larger active space in response to conspecific than heterospecific alarm cues. Brook stickleback showed reduced catches within 2 m of skin extract of fathead minnows. Overall, the radius of active space was between 2 and 8 m under lake conditions with average subsurface currents of 0.82 cm/s. These data are the first field estimates of active space of ostariophysan chemical alarm cues.
Transition from Educational System to Labour Market in the European Union
Authors: Saar Ellu , Unt Marge , Kogan Irena
Published: January 2008

Theoretically, the central research question of this article pertains to the way in which national institutional arrangements, namely educational systems, and related modes of labour markets and welfare provisions, affect the aggregate effectiveness of youth labour market integration in the new EU member states in comparison to the old EU countries. The study utilizes the European Union Labour Force Survey 2004. Results of the cluster analysis provide substantial support for distinct patterns of labour market entry in terms of the stratification of labour market exclusion, downgrading risk and labour market mobility of LM entrants in different CEE countries. Furthermore, the article reveals also new aspects of labour market entry in the EU-15 countries while considering not only educational signalling but also the labour market flexibility dimension.
The Rise and Decline of Women's Policy Machinery in British Columbia and New South Wales: A Cautionary Tale
Authors: Teghtsoonian Katherine , Chappell Louise
Published: January 2008

This article presents a comparative analysis of the institutional trajectories traced by women's policy agencies within government in the province of British Columbia in Canada and in the state of New South Wales in Australia. In both cases, a period during which the principal women's policy agency took the form of a freestanding government ministry was followed by a period during which that ministry (along with an array of women's policy agencies located elsewhere in government) was dismantled. The partisan complexion of the governments undertaking these initiatives has been quite different in the two cases, and presents an apparent paradox. The article explores this paradox, as well as other patterns observable across the two cases, and provides an assessment of their implications.
The State and the Development of Social Trust
Authors: Herreros Francisco , Criado Henar
Published: January 2008

The role of the state in the promotion of social or generalized trust is one of the most important ongoing topics in social capital research. We suggest that the state can play a positive role in the creation of social trust as a third-party enforcer of private agreements. This positive effect depends on the efficacy of the state. We also argue that the effects of the state on social trust will be unevenly distributed among majoritarian and minoritarian ethnic groups. These hypotheses are tested using the European Social Survey (2002—03) and confirmed for a dataset of 22 European countries.
Economic Internationalization of Russia: Roots, Trends, and Scenarios
Authors: Zhuplev Anatoly
Published: January 2008

This article examines the background conditions, trends, and scenarios of Russian economic internationalization. In the context of globalization, Russia is stepping up efforts to re-establish itself as a regional and global power. Despite recent progress in domestic economic development, Russia's comparative ratings in major international surveys remain modest or low and many indicators of political rights and civil liberties in Russia demonstrate worsening trends. Russia still lags behind other countries on many of the criteria measuring economic freedom, market attractiveness, globalization, corruption, opacity, and competitiveness. The article explores the lessons for Russia in its political-economic transformation from “peer” countries such as Chile, China, and Venezuela. In exploring the driving forces of Russian economic internationalization, the article focuses on three alternative scenarios conceptualized as “Chilean,” “Chinese,” and “Venezuelan.” Each of these scenarios reflects various traits that have commonalities with the Russian political-economic system, leadership, and situational characteristics in the international context. After examining the internal dynamics and external environmental factors pertaining to Russia, the article concludes that the most probable mid-range alternative for economic internationalization will resemble the Venezuelan scenario, with some elements of the Chinese model also evident.
Imaginary Homes, Transplanted Traditions
Authors: Moorti Sujata
Published: January 2008

This article calls for an understanding of Indian television as a transnationally mediated apparatus, rather than examining it as a national enterprise. At the production, distribution and reception levels, contemporary Indian television is enmeshed in an interconnected network of ‘contact zones’; its storylines and rhetorical strategies are shaped by the transnational traffic of programming and peoples, and the national–cultural identity it articulates is transnational in character. Consequently, its programming is, at least, double–sited and offers a double–vision, simultaneously referencing the transnational and the local to produce a global–parochial sensibility. Using the concept of the transnational optic, I analyse prime–time melodramas produced in India as well as in the diaspora to highlight the central role women have come to occupy in narratives about the Indian nation. Although the national and diasporic melodramas offer different definitions of ‘Indian tradition’, it is the figure of the woman who is presented consistently as the ‘bearer of tradition’. Paradoxically, in the melodramas I examine, this ‘traditional’ woman, who is located firmly in the domestic realm, is the primary figure through which the shows stage anxieties concerning national and global issues.
Changing Ambivalences
Authors: Saha Anamik
Published: January 2008

This article explores the commodification of difference in relation to the corporate sponsorship of the photography exhibition, Changing Faces. At first the article considers how the exhibition's collection of images of British Asian youth challenged stereotypical representations of Asian youth cultures, but then argues that this counter–hegemonic potential was undermined by the corporate sponsorship of telecommunications company 02. Yet that is not to say that the ethics of such explicit commerciality are immediately guaranteed; instead, there is the suggestion that the epistemological outcomes were much more complex. Indeed, the article adopts a cultural economy approach that shifts from dialectical political economy models of the culture industry and stresses the elaborate and entangled relations through which the production of culture is mediated. This article argues that it is only when these micro–processes are identified and then situated within the wider logic of global capitalism that the ethical implications of the corporate intervention in the culturally diverse arts can be more effectively ascertained.
Feeling Good? Look Again!
Authors: Donnell Alison
Published: January 2008

This article discusses two very different South Asian diasporic films that both promise an identity politics congruent with the objectives of postcolonial feminism alongside a distinctive ‘feel good’ factor: Deepa Mehta's Fire (1997) and Gurinder Chadha's Bend It Like Beckham (2002). Both films explore the pressure that certain ideas of India exert on female subjectivities in the diaspora a.nd at home, and their success as feel good films depends on the viewer's ability to understand and ally themselves with the liberation of the central characters from these pressures. By reading the limits as well as the triumphs invoked by the emotional crescendos of these films and the politics of liberation that they endorse, this article also considers other points of continued silence and struggle (specifically queer diasporic subjects and sex workers), not foregrounded by the visual or narrative persuasions of the films themselves.
Indian Movies, Narratives of Dissent and Objectification
Authors: Narain Atticus
Published: January 2008

This article examines negative attitudes around Indian films generated in Georgetown, the capital of Guyana, to engage in the changing politics of Indian marginality, media representation and political relations towards Indians. By juxtaposing a series of ethnically charged speaking positions ignited by Indian cinema I highlight how the capital is seen as, essentially an Afrocentric space, contested by the shift in political power towards a ‘perceived’ Indian government. These various positions present how Indian films are made synonymous with Indian culture and how that culture is performed, celebrated and disavowed in this urban space.
‘UK is Finished; India's too Corrupt; Anyone can become Amrikan’
Authors: Malik Surbhi
Published: January 2008

This article attempts to understand the representations of American exceptionalism in Indian diasporic popular film through an analysis of reconfiguration of model minority racialization in Gurinder Chadha's films Bend It Like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice. The films underscore that the model minority racialization of Indians in the United States is being constructed in transnational South Asian diasporic framework through an engagement with British imperial history and the British colonial subject, and with Indian nationalism. While United States’ imperialist structures invoke model minority racialization in form, they simultaneously evacuate its content through racialization of Indians as potential terrorists. Thus, in a post–9/11 world marked by convergences between racialization processes of Britain and United States, the Indian diaspora is characterized by a project of transnational racial management. The diaspora is, thus, structured by management of anxieties generated by Indian gendered and racialized bodies: anxieties of economic success gendered male are diffused through fear of potential terrorists; anxieties of sexual and cultural purity are managed by racialization of women as native informants, who come to embody continuities between the national and the global.
Globalization, God and Galloway
Authors: Hussain Delwar
Published: January 2008

In this article I want to investigate the strategic values of ethnicity, class, religion, global, local and transnational processes as resources for political mobilization, struggle and resistance in the global city. Though some of my argument can be applied to many global cities, I will do this by exploring it in the context of the Islamisization of Bangladeshi communities in the global city par excellance, London. This will be an attempt to analytically link actual state policies, capitalism, transnational and global networks to forms of cultural reproduction, inventiveness and possibilities. This analysis can in turn provide us with an understanding of the role played by migrant communities in the context of a contemporary multicultural Britain. This study is timely. Not only due to the subject matter of the global rise of religious movements, but also because local case studies—not local in the sense of fixed and bounded communities, but as sites from which mobility as well as fixity can be empirically observed—are vitally necessary for elaborating the nature of the contemporary world. This article is aiming to contribute to a conversation, partly public and partly taking place within the political sciences.
‘Not Something We're New To. Its Something We Grew To’
Authors: Smith Hannah
Published: January 2008

On a global scale, new images are chasing out the old. Contemporary cultural experiences have new international inflections and connections: ‘households’ cross continents, teenagers in the Philippines don sequinned flares with nostalgia for the days of Elvis, white English city kids use Jamaican Creole and African American slang to articulate their experiences, and British-born second-generation West Indians identify with bhangra music and pan-Africanism. As ‘insights into other cultures… are brought into one's living room’ (McGrane 1989: 115), the ‘scapes’ (Appadurai 1994) that comprise our social and cultural worlds show us that there are multiple ways of knowing, doing and being. As members of families, neighbourhoods, institutions, academies, cities, classes and so on, we are all living in, and engaged in making, an ‘all change world’ (Prescod 1997). In a context of the daily reworking and reconstruction of meaning-making processes, the question becomes ‘how are we to live in the world?’ (Rushdie 1981[1991]: 17). The following discussion looks at how ideas about culture and cultural diversity have changed since Boas’ time; how societies have themselves changed; and how contemporary social research, and the subjects of study, are continually developing ways to understand and represent ‘the diversity of ideologies and discourses that they both consume and engage with’ (Back 1996: 53).
Travels in Negotiations
Authors: Brah Avtar
Published: January 2008

There are three parts to the article. First, it addresses the figure of the Asian in British cultural formation, charting the major changes in its configuration since World War II. Second, it considers negotiations through the terrain of feminism, with particular reference to the debate between ‘black’ and ‘white’ feminism. And third, it addresses certain debates and issues across the field of difference and identity.
An audit of healthcare workers' knowledge of meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) against current infection control standards
Authors: Trigg D. , Timmons S. , Pynegar C.
Published: January 2008

The aim of this audit was to establish the knowledge of different healthcare workers regarding meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection control precautions within the clinical environment. Data was interpreted to identify how education could be appropriately targeted to enhance the knowledge of all staff.

A cross-sectional audit tool was developed from existing policies and national guidelines. Stratified random sampling was undertaken and 961 audits were distributed proportionately to differing groups of healthcare workers from within one UK NHS hospital; 411 audits were returned giving a 43% response rate.

The majority of staff (71%) felt that MRSA is a very serious issue. The amount of staff that had read the trust's MRSA policy or received any formal MRSA education varied considerably, depending on the healthcare worker's occupation, and it was predominantly the nursing staff who had read the MRSA policy. It was unexpected, but encouraging, to find that unregistered nurses (healthcare assistants) and doctors had received the most education regarding MRSA. Of concern was that the majority of hotel services staff (69%) had not read the policy or received any MRSA education (79%). Only medical staff felt they had received adequate amounts of education on MRSA.
The future for infection prevention and control in English primary care trusts
Authors: Pickles H. , Nunkoo B. , Sadler K.
Published: January 2008

Although less well developed than in the hospital sector, the infection prevention and control function is important to primary and community care. In each reorganisation in the NHS, any specialist workforce needs to align with that part of the system that holds the relevant responsibilities and duties. This paper describes how infection control nursing has shifted its focus over the past decade. It questions whether the primary care trust (PCT) will remain an appropriate employing organisation in the future, as those provider functions currently within PCTs move away. The challenge will then be to ensure that infection prevention and control remains prominent within the decision making of PCTs and practice-based commissioners, with expert infection control advice and support also remaining available to independent primary care practitioners. A market for infection prevention and control advice and support services would be possible, provided suitable employment conditions could be ensured.
Hand hygiene: What about our patients?
Authors: Burnett E. , Lee K. , Kydd P.
Published: January 2008

Effective hand hygiene practice within health care is widely recognised as being one of the single most important interventions to control and prevent the spread of healthcare associated infection (HCAI). This study aimed to explore nurses' and patients' perceptions towards patient hand hygiene and determine whether patients who required assistance with their hand hygiene were encouraged and offered appropriate facilities at appropriate times. In January 2007, within an acute teaching hospital in Scotland, six observational sessions, each lasting 4 hours were undertaken, 33 nurses completed a survey questionnaire, and interviews were carried out with 22 patients who required hand hygiene assistance. 100% of nurses and 95% of patients believed that patient hand hygiene was an important part of controlling and preventing HCAI. 64% of nurses reported having offered patients facilities to decontaminate their hands during the observational period, but only 14% of patients agreed with this. Out of 75 patient hand hygiene opportunities identified, facilities were provided on only one occasion. Despite nurses believing patient hand hygiene is an important part of preventing and controlling HCAI, unless patients are able to undertake this task independently, they are rarely encouraged or offered facilities to do so.
A Comparison of Empirical Indoor Relative Humidity Models with Measured Data
Authors: Cornick S.M. , Kumaran M.K.
Published: January 2008

The focus of this study is to examine the reliability of models that are available in the open literature for simulating the interior moisture conditions, comparing the predicted interior relative humidity (RH) to measured data. Four models, for predicting the indoor RH in houses are tested against measured RH data for 25 houses. The models considered are primarily developed as design tools. The models tested are the European Indoor Class Model, the BRE model, and the ASHRAE 160P simple and intermediate models. The RH in each house is measured in two different locations producing 50 data sets. The ASHRAE intermediate model seemed to be the most robust exhibiting lower errors when compared to measured data. The European Indoor Class also performed well and can be used when data regarding moisture generation and/or air change rates is not available. As a design tool, however, it is not universally conservative in estimating the indoor RH. The BRE is problematic and generally exhibits large positive errors for most of the houses surveyed. It is found to be not reliable for the North American houses investigated in the comparisons. The ASHRAE simple model also exhibited large positive errors and does not trend well with the measured conditions. Models that greatly overestimate the design loads should be used with caution as they may lead to complicated inefficient designs.
Moisture Storage Properties of Multi-Slotted Light-weight Ceramic Blocks: Comparison Between Two Manufacturers
Authors: Gómez I. , Sala J.M. , Millán J.A.
Published: January 2008

If sustainability criteria are to be applied properly in the construction sector it is essential to characterize the moisture capacity properties of building materials. This is the first step in studying the influence of moisture in the transmittance of exterior walls and in the occurrence of condensation, and in understanding the associated mechanisms of mechanical and chemical deterioration. Multi-slotted clay blocks are widely used in construction because of the special features entailed by their structure (e.g., better compressive strength and improved thermal and acoustic performance). However, depending on the type of additives used and on the manufacturing process characteristics (pressure of extrusion, drying time and temperature, baking process temperature, etc), moisture capacity properties may vary considerably from one type of material to another. This article determines the moisture capacity of two types of lightened clay made by different manufacturers. Differences are found, and one of them displays behavior not characteristic of clayey materials due to the additives used in its composition.
Numerical Determination of Convection Coefficients for Internal Surfaces in Buildings Dominated by Thermally Stratified Flows
Authors: Jun Gao  , Xu Zhang  , Jia Ning Zhao
Published: January 2008

Convection coefficients for internal building surfaces, characterized by the air—surface temperature difference and local airflow, are crucial to a reliable building energy simulation and analysis based on the integrated modeling of heat and air flow in buildings, especially dominated by the thermally stratified flows, where the coefficients may vary significantly along each vertical wall. A turbulence model with a differential viscosity and dynamic turbulent Prandtl is proposed to predict the convective heat transfer for the case of thermally stratified flows in buildings. The local convection coefficients and then the bulk ones are numerically derived based on the law-of-the-wall method. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are performed in an experimental enclosure and the results of air temperature profiles in the space are compared with the experimental data. Good agreements of thermally stratified pattern between the CFD and experiments are obtained. Although some discrepancies in the bulk convection coefficients are observed when natural convection is dominating, little differences in the temperature profiles give much confidence. As a whole, the CFD method using the turbulence model suggested in this study exhibits its good ability to effectively predict the convection coefficients.
The CD40-TRAF6 axis is the key regulator of the CD40/CD40L system in neointima formation and arterial remodeling
Authors: Donners Marjo M. P. C. , Beckers Linda , Lievens Dirk , Munnix Imke , Heemskerk Johan , Janssen Ben J. , Wijnands Erwin , Cleutjens Jack , Zernecke Alma , Weber Christian , Ahonen Cory L. , Benbow Ulrike , Newby Andrew C. , Noelle Randolph J. , Daemen Mat J. A. P. , Lutgens Esther
Published: January 2008

We investigated the role of CD40 and CD40L in neointima formation and identified the downstream CD40-signaling intermediates (tumor necrosis factor [TNF]–receptor associated factors [TRAF]) involved. Neointima formation was induced in wild-type, CD40−/−, CD40L−/−, and in CD40−/− mice that contained a CD40 transgene with or without mutations at the CD40-TRAF2,3&5, TRAF6, or TRAF2,3,5&6 binding sites. Compared with wild-type mice, CD40−/− mice showed a significant decrease in neointima formation with increased collagen deposition and decreased inflammatory cell infiltration. Neointima formation was also impaired in wild-type mice reconstituted with CD40−/− bone marrow. In vitro, the capacity of CD40−/− leukocytes to adhere to the endothelium was reduced. Ligated carotid arteries of CD40−/− mice showed a smaller total vessel volume and an impaired remodeling capacity, reflected by decreased gelatinolytic/collagenolytic activity. Comparable results were found in mice with defects in CD40-TRAF6 and CD40-TRAF 2/3/5&6 binding, but not in mice with defects in CD40-TRAF2/3&5 binding. Neointima formation and vascular remodeling in CD40-receptor–deficient mice is impaired, due to a decreased inflammatory cell infiltration and matrix-degrading protease activity, with CD40-TRAF6 signaling as the key regulator. This identifies the CD40-TRAF6 axis as a potential therapeutic target in vascular disease.
Implicit Religion and Inter-faith Dialogue
Authors: Sharpe Kevin , Bryant Rebecca
Published: January 2008

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Spirituality and Holistic Caring
Authors: Papadopoulos Irena
Published: January 2008

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Implicit Religion in Inter-faith Perspective
Authors: Pye Michael , Roberts Richard
Published: January 2008

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Northern Lights
Authors: Badertscher John
Published: January 2008

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Championing the Dead
Authors: Ustorf Werner
Published: January 2008

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When Implicit Religion becomes Explicit
Authors: Campbell Robert A.
Published: January 2008

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The World is Just
Authors: Sharpe Kevin , Walgate Jonathan
Published: January 2008

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Implicit Religion and Power
Authors: Ter Borg Meerten B.
Published: January 2008

In this theoretical essay, religion, implicit religion, and power are analysed from the point of view of both social constructionism and structuration theory. In what way can implicit religion be conceived as a source of social power? The essay starts with a short description of power, and especially symbolic power, and after that, of religious power. Implicit religious power is seen as a subcategory of this.
Establishment or Disestablishment?
Authors: Smith Guy , Francis Leslie J. , Robbins Mandy
Published: January 2008

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Technology and Myth
Authors: Stahl William A.
Published: January 2008

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Why is Implicit Religion Implicit?
Authors: Hay David
Published: January 2008

To say that certain expressions of religion are ‘implicit’ is to suggest that there are good reasons why they cannot be made ‘explicit’. This paper accepts that religions are socially constructed systems of symbols (Geertz), but emphasises that they are also responses to the experience of a relationship with a transcendent presence. Qualitative and quantitative empirical data are presented to demonstrate that such experience is extremely commonplace in Britain. Yet public reference to this biologically built-in awareness is often the cause of embarrassment and fear of ridicule. The origins of this taboo are traced back to the damage done to relational consciousness by the possessive individualism that emerged in Europe during the seventeenth century. The rise of individualism is associated with interlinked changes in religious, philosophical, political and economic beliefs that continue to dominate Western economic and political life. During the nineteenth century the Young Hegelian Max Stirner demonstrated (and applauded) how the assumptions of individualism lead logically to an extreme form of atheism. However, since individualism is a social construct, it can potentially be deconstructed. Hence, in principle, religion need not continue to be as implicit as it currently is in many people’s lives.