bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A High-Resolution Topographic Correction Method for Clear-Sky Solar Irradiance Derived with a Numerical Weather Prediction Model
Authors: Ruiz-Arias José A. , Pozo-Vázquez David , Lara-Fanego Vicente , Santos-Alamillos Francisco J. , Tovar-Pescador J.
Published: August 2011

Rugged terrain is a source of variability in the incoming solar radiation field, but the influence of terrain is still not properly included by most current numerical weather prediction (NWP) models. In this work, a downscaling postprocessing method for NWP-model solar irradiance through terrain effects is presented. It allows one to decrease the estimation bias caused by terrain shading and sky-view reduction, and to account for elevation variability, surface orientation, and surface albedo. The method has been applied to a case study in southern Spain using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) mesoscale model with a spatial resolution of 30 arc s, resulting in disaggregated maps of 3 arc s. The validation was based on a radiometric network made of eight stations located in the Natural Park of Sierra Mágina over an area of roughly 30 × 35 km2and 12 carefully selected cloudless days during a year. Three of the stations were equipped with tilted pyranometers. Their inclination and aspect were visually adjusted to the inclination and aspect of the local terrain and then carefully measured. For horizontal surface, the downscaled irradiance has proven to reduce the root-mean-square error of the WRF model by 20% to about 25 W m−2in winter and autumn and 60 W m−2in spring and summer. For tilted surface, downscaling to different spatial resolutions resulted in the best performance for 9 arc s, with root-mean-square error of 45% (57 W m−2) and a mean bias error close to zero.
Introduction and Overview
Authors: Jacobs Sue C. , Leach Mark M. , Gerstein Lawrence H.
Published: August 2011

Counseling psychologists have responded to many disasters, including the Haiti earthquake, the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, and Hurricane Katrina. However, as a profession, their responses have been localized and nonsystematic. In this first of four articles in this contribution, “Counseling Psychology and Large-Scale Disasters, Catastrophes, and Traumas: Opportunities for Growth,” the authors assert that counseling psychology can make important contributions in disaster research and response. Throughout all the articles, the authors use Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model of human development as a foundation from which to more broadly view counseling psychology’s role in training, prevention, intervention, and research in mass trauma work. Disasters affect individuals, families, communities, work places, and disaster responders. Thus, they require a multisystem analysis and response, which counseling psychologists can provide through their scientist-practitioner, strength-based approaches, supported by social justice values based in multicultural and vocational counseling. The authors also provide the history of the Society of Counseling Psychology’s response to disasters following Hurricane Katrina, from which the need for this contribution arose.
Increasing Positive Perceptions of Counseling
Authors: Kaplan Scott A. , Vogel David L. , Gentile Douglas A. , Wade Nathaniel G.
Published: August 2011

This study assesses the effectiveness of repeated exposures to a video intervention based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model. The video was designed to increase help-seeking attitudes and perceptions of peer norms and to decrease the stigma associated with seeking counseling. Participants were 290 undergraduates who were randomly assigned to a repeated-exposure video intervention, a single-exposure video intervention, or a control video condition. Participants completed measures pre- and post-intervention and at a 3-week follow-up. Those in the repeated-exposure intervention improved significantly more than the single-exposure and control groups on help-seeking attitudes and perception of peer norms but not for stigma. The effect of repeated exposures on attitudes and peer norms showed both immediate and longer term effects. Effective, empirically supported interventions capable of reaching large numbers of people are necessary to improve utilization rates of counseling services. This study offers support for the use of repeated video interventions in changing attitudes and perceptions of counseling.
Properties of natural fiber composites made by pultrusion process
Authors: Peng Xi , Fan Mizi , Hartley John , Al-Zubaidy Majeed
Published: August 2011

Great efforts are being made at Brunel University, UK in attempt to develop natural fiber composites with desired structure and good overall properties for construction. This work focuses on the mechanical and morphological characterization of the pultruded composite rods made from hemp and wool fiber reinforcements. The results showed that the composite using polyurethane resin system has higher specific tensile and compressive strength as well as the Young's and compressive moduli compared with the polyester and vinyl ester composites, while the polyester composite exhibits better flexural strength. The SEM observation of the cross section and layered polyester and polyurethane composites has found defects on the interface of fibers and resin matrix. It is also revealed that fibers are not evenly distributed in the composites and more resin aggregates in areas close to rod surface. Meanwhile, voids have been noticed existing in both composites, but more of them are found in the polyurethane-matrix rod, which correlated to the higher water absorption for this composite.
Finite element buckling analysis of laminated composite sandwich panels with transversely flexible core containing a face/core debond
Authors: Sayyidmousavi A. , Malekzadeh K. , Bougharara H.
Published: August 2011

In this article, a new three-dimensional finite element modeling approach with less computing time and space is introduced to study the buckling behavior of sandwich panels, containing a face–core debond. The finite element model presented in this study relates the motion of the face sheets to the core through constraint equations utilizing the concept of slave and master nodes, thus representing a more realistic model of the sandwich panel. The composite face sheets are modeled with shell elements, and the core is modeled using the 3D structural solid elements capable of taking transverse flexibility into consideration. In order to model the debond, the constraints between the nodes of the face sheet and the core are removed and replaced with contact elements in the debonded region to avoid interpenetration. The model is validated through comparison with experimental results reported in the literature. The validated model is then used to study the effects of the size, shape, aspect ratio of the debond, as well as fiber orientation of the face sheets and the influence of core stiffness on the buckling load of the panel subject to different boundary conditions on the top and bottom face sheets of the panel.
Properties of waste silk short fiber/cellulose green composite films
Authors: Nadhan A. Venu , Rajulu A. Varada , Li R. , Cai J. , Zhang L.
Published: August 2011

Green composites of waste silk short fibers/cellulose were prepared by dissolving cellulose in (7%NaOH/12%Urea) aqueous solution pre-cooled at −12°C. The effect of fiber loading on the tensile, optical, thermal degradation, and cell viability was studied. The interfacial bonding between the fibers and matrix was assessed using the fractograph.
Evaluation of the Taguchi method for wear behavior of Al/SiC/B4C composites
Authors: Soy Ugur , Ficici Ferit , Demir Adem
Published: August 2011

In this study, the wear behaviors of aluminum matrix composites with an A360 matrix reinforced with silicon carbide (SiC) and boron carbide (B4C) ceramic particles using Taguchi method were investigated. Wear tests of unreinforced aluminum alloy and Al17%SiC and Al17%B4C particles reinforced aluminum composites (Al/17%SiC and Al/17%B4C, respectively) versus AISI316L stainless steel disc were carried out for a dry sliding condition in a so-called a pin-on-disc arrangement. The wear tests were realized at the sliding speeds of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 m s−1 and under the loads of 10, 20, and 30 N. The obtained average specific wear rates for Al/17%B4C and Al/17%SiC composites are lower than unreinforced aluminum specific wear rate under the same test conditions. The experimental results are transformed into a signal-to-noise ( S/ N) ratio of using Taguchi method. Type of the material, applied load, and sliding speed exert a great effect on the specific wear rate, at 48.13%, 31.83%, and 8.77%, respectively. The estimated S/ N ratio using the optimal testing parameters for specific wear rate were calculated and a good agreement was observed between the predicted and actual specific wear rate for a confidence level of 99.5%.
Structure and properties of vinyl ester resins modified with organophilic synthetic layered silicates bearing non- and co-reactive intercalants
Authors: Grishchuk Sergiy , Castellà Núria , Apostolov Anton A , Karger-Kocsis Jozsef
Published: August 2011

OLS were incorporated in various amounts (0.1 to 5 wt.%) in VE. The intercalants of synthetic fluorohectorite were TMDA and OAE, respectively. The latter quaternary amine was expected to support the intercalation/exfoliation of the silicate by participating in the crosslinking reactions. Both OLS types became intercalated based on X-ray diffractograms. DMTA displayed a slight increase in the stiffness by adding OLS. The glass transition temperature did not change practically with the OLS type and content. Fracture mechanical tests were performed on CT specimens. Both the fracture toughness (Kc,maximum improvement ca. 45%) and fracture energy (Gc, maximum improvement ca. 100%) increased with increasing OLS content. As expected, OAE proved to be a more suitable intercalant than TMDA in respect to the overall property profile. The failure mode of the specimens was studied in a SEM and discussed. The fractographic inspection revealed that the composites contained abundant OLS microparticles triggering crack pinning and crack bifurcations.
Artificial neural network based multi-parameter inversion for the characterization of transversely isotropic composite lamina using velocity measurements of Lamb waves
Authors: Ramadas C. , Harshe Rahul , Balasubramaniam Krishnan , Joshi Makarand
Published: August 2011

Artificial neural network (ANN) based multi-parameter inversion method is proposed to characterize transversely isotropic composite lamina using Lamb wave group velocity measurements. The ANN is first trained using numerical simulations and known micromechanics based formulae before being deployed on experimental samples. The group velocities obtained from the experiments were fed to the trained network. The network so trained, predicted the elastic properties, fiber volume fraction, and density.
Politics, Passion and Professionalization in Contemporary Indian Feminism
Authors: Roy Srila
Published: August 2011

The article locates itself in current criticisms of the ‘NGOization’ and professionalization of women’s movements in India. It is concerned with the critique of the instrumentalization of feminism in its ‘9 to 5ization’ together with the rise of a phenomenon that is disparagingly referred to, in generational terms, as the ‘career feminist’. In considering two distinct forms of activism and organizational cultures, the article troubles the dichotomy between ‘passion’ and ‘profession’ in terms of which feminist activism and identities have come to be understood in India today, in an era of neoliberal development. It uncovers points of convergence and hybridity in contemporary feminist practice.
‘Anything Could Have Happened’: Women, the Night-time Economy, Alcohol and Drink Spiking
Authors: Sheard Laura
Published: August 2011

This article explores how 40 women interviewed in the north of England used spaces in the night-time economy and consumed alcohol. The most significant issues were: age of the women, risk and ‘luck’, drink spiking, and night-time economy spaces themselves. The notion of safety (and strategies for ensuring safety) is illustrated. Palpable fear existed for the women interviewed, related to concerns about unprovoked violence towards them by (male) users of the night-time economy. These fears are embedded within a rich exploration of the embodied experience of being a female consumer and actor within alcohol-centred night-time spaces.
Comparative Biographies in Case-based Cross-national Research: Methodological Considerations
Authors: Brannen Julia , Nilsen Ann
Published: August 2011

This article examines some methodological issues relating to an embedded case study design adopted in a comparative cross-national study of working parents covering three levels of social context: the macro level; the workplace level; and the individual level. It addresses issues of generalizability, in particular the importance of criteria for the selection of cases in the research design and analysis phases. To illustrate the benefits of the design the article focuses on the level of individual biographies. Three exemplars of biographical trajectories and experiences are presented and discussed. It is argued that a multi-tiered design and a comparative biographical approach can add to the understanding of individual experience by placing it in context and thus yield knowledge that is of general sociological relevance by demonstrating the interrelatedness of agency and structure.
Academic Achievement and Its Impact on Friend Dynamics
Authors: Flashman Jennifer
Published: August 2011

Academic achievement in adolescence is a key determinant of future educational and occupational success. Friends play an important role in the educational process. They provide support and resources and can both encourage and discourage academic achievement. As a result, the friends adolescents make may help to maintain and exacerbate inequality if friends are sorted on the basis of academic achievement. These observations prompt the question: How does academic achievement affect the friendship ties made? Using data from the high schools in the Add Health saturated sample, the author models network change using a stochastic actor-based Markov model for the co-evolution of networks and behavior. This model is carried out at the school level for each of the high schools included in the saturated sample. Results show that in the most typical American schools, similarity in academic achievement is an important and consistent predictor of friendship ties in a dynamic context. High-achieving students are more likely to extend ties to other high-achieving students, net of other sociodemographic, network, and proximity characteristics, while low-achieving students are more likely to extend ties to other low-achieving students. Adolescents respond to changes in academic achievement by changing their friendship ties.
On Boredom and Social Identity
Authors: van Tilburg Wijnand A. P. , Igou Eric R.
Published: August 2011

People who feel bored experience that their current situation is meaningless and are motivated to reestablish a sense of meaningfulness. Building on the literature that conceptualizes social identification as source of meaningfulness, the authors tested the hypothesis that boredom increases the valuation of ingroups and devaluation of outgroups. Indeed, state boredom increased the liking of an ingroup name (Study 1), it increased hypothetical jail sentences given to an outgroup offender (Study 2 and Study 3), especially in comparison to an ingroup offender (Study 3), it increased positive evaluations of participants’ ingroups, especially when ingroups were not the most favored ones to begin with (Study 4), and it increased the appreciation of an ingroup symbol, mediated by people’s need to engage in meaningful behavior (Study 5). Several measures ruled out that these results could be explained by other affective states. These novel findings are discussed with respect to boredom, social identity, and existential psychology research.
The Use of High-Fidelity Simulation to Teach Home Care Nursing
Authors: Smith Sherrill Jeanne , Barry Detrice G.
Published: August 2011

The use of high-fidelity human patient simulation (HPS) is increasing in nursing education, yet little is known about its use in community health. This study examined an HPS home care experience to determine effects on three outcomes (student satisfaction, self-confidence, and learning). In addition, design characteristics of the simulation and demographic characteristics of students were examined for correlation with these outcomes. Senior baccalaureate students took part in the experience. Results indicated that students were very satisfied with the experience and felt it increased their confidence in providing care in the home, although learning outcomes were not high. Although no demographic characteristics were found to be correlated with outcomes, five design characteristics of a simulation were moderately correlated with the outcomes of satisfaction and self-confidence, especially support. It is recommended that nurse educators design HPS home care simulation experiences that provide student support prior to their first home care visit.
Near-infrared spectroscopy as a possible device for continuous monitoring of arterial carbon dioxide tension during cardiac surgery
Authors: Park CS , Kwak JG , Lee C , Lee C-H , Lee SK , Kim YL
Published: August 2011

Background: Insufflation of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the operative field has been used to prevent major organ injury attributed to air embolisms in cardiac surgery. However, it may be preferable to avoid hypercapnia induced by CO2 insufflation, owing to its potentially harmful effect. To investigate the effectiveness of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) as a possible method for continuous monitoring of arterial CO2 tension during cardiac surgery, we evaluated the correlation between the change in arterial CO2 tension and the change in regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rScO2) obtained from NIRS in as controlled a condition as possible.

Methods: Thirty patients who underwent surgical correction for atrial or ventricular septal defects were enrolled in this study. Patients who had pulmonary hypertension or other intracardiac anomalies were excluded. Anesthetic and cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) management were conducted according to our standard institutional practice. Data obtained from arterial blood gas analyses and corresponding regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rScO2) recorded from NIRS before and after the insufflations of CO2 during CPB were used for analysis.

Results: The change in arterial CO2 tension correlated with the change in rScO2 in the left hemisphere (r = 0.681, p <0.001, y = −1.393 + 0.547x) and right hemisphere (r = 0.690, p <0.001, y = −1.999 + 0.486x). To control the effects of other variables, including hematocrit and temperature, these relationship were not reduced (left hemisphere: r=0.678, p<0.001; right hemisphere: r=0.634, p<0.001).

Conclusions: Since the change in regional cerebral oxygen saturation was correlated with the change in arterial CO2 tension during mild hypothermic CPB, NIRS might be a possible non-invasive method for monitoring of arterial CO2 tension without incurring additional cost in this setting.
Creating Compact Comparative Health Care Information
Authors: Damman Olga C. , Spreeuwenberg Peter , Rademakers Jany , Hendriks Michelle
Published: August 2011

Background. The recent emphasis on providing comparative health care data to the public has resulted in a large amount of online information. To focus on the most essential attributes, insight is needed into which attributes are actually considered by consumers. Objective. To assess which attributes of Dutch hospital performance information contribute most to consumers’ hospital choice for cataract and total hip or knee replacement surgery. Design. Two discrete-choice experiments were performed: one for cataract surgery and one for total hip or knee replacement surgery. Participants viewed hypothetical hospitals based on representative values for 10 attributes (e.g., distance to the hospital, waiting time for the surgery, conduct of professionals, information provision, complication rate) and were asked to select the hospital they would choose if they needed treatment. We used multilevel logistic regression analysis to test the effects of the attributes and the interactions between attributes and respondent characteristics on consumers’ hospital choice. Results. All except one attribute (length of the first appointment with the ophthalmologist) contributed significantly to consumers’ choices. Although some differences were found between cataract and hip/knee replacement surgery, the most influential attributes for both types of surgeries were distance, waiting time, and the attributes of patient safety (complication rate of capsular rupture and the use of procedures to prevent adverse effects of thrombosis). Interaction effects were found between hospital attributes, on one hand, and age, education, and consumer choice orientation, on the other hand. Conclusions. As for cataract and total hip/knee replacement surgery, the attributes that seem most important to consumers when choosing a hospital are access (waiting time and distance) and patient safety attributes.
Models of democracy in social studies of science
Authors: Durant Darrin
Published: August 2011

Science and Technology Studies (STS) offers contrasting normative visions of how to democratically manage the relations between experts and larger publics in contemporary liberal democracies. This lack of uniformity has not stopped advocates of participatory politics from implying that to be anything other than staunch defenders of ‘the public’ is to be illiberal and undemocratic. But if we turn to political philosophy, part of liberal democratic theory is the attempt to theorize how deliberation might include limits to public discourse. This paper treats the debate between Sheila Jasanoff and Brian Wynne, on one side, and Harry Collins and Robert Evans, on the other, as representative of opposing normative sensibilities within STS. Jasanoff and Wynne claim that widespread deliberation is the democratic means for protecting publics from experts who colonize public meanings. Collins and Evans caution that a failure to draw distinctions between publics and experts, or politics and expertise, undermines expertise and is impractical for democracy. By relating both of these approaches to prominent positions and traditions within political philosophy, I aim to illuminate different senses of democracy. Jasanoff and Wynne appear to have the normative upper hand, but only because their approach dovetails with a politics of identity, which is widespread in contemporary political discourse. However, it is an unsatisfactory view of the grounds of public discourse. I argue that Collins and Evans work within a different tradition, that of John Rawls and liberal egalitarianism. Explicating these links helps to disrobe the implication that Collins and Evans are anti-democratic in their effort to impose restrictions on public engagement with expertise.
Metatheory and Practice Regarding Acting Out in Group Analytical Therapy
Authors: Storebø Ole Jakob
Published: August 2011

This article addresses a split that has occurred in group analytical metatheory. It also addresses diversity and its resulting consequences on the practical level, in relation to the psychoanalytical concept of acting out. Differences in metatheory can be resolved pragmatically by examining different levels and figure ground perspectives within a group. This article then makes a theoretical suggestion, based on the metatheoretical framework model developed by Preben Bertelsen. In that model, the different ontological and epistemological levels among different theories can be seen as parts of a coherent narrative.
It’s All About ‘Me’: On the Group Leader’s Psychology
Authors: Billow Richard M.
Published: August 2011

The therapist’s subjectivity—the complex of personality, character, feelings, thoughts, fantasies, many of which remain out of awareness—affect how we comport ourselves, how we relate to our groups, and how they relate to us. The dynamic factor involving the group leader’s psychology—the ‘me’—is always prominent and influential, and often apparent to group members, although not always articulated consciously or publicly. Using myself as a clinical example, I illustrate how unresolved Oedipal and sibling dynamics were involved in my perceptions, theory, and technique—perhaps in every micro-action and interaction that comprised a group experience.
Expecting the Unexpected: A Source of Change in Analytic Groups
Authors: Wotton Linde
Published: August 2011

When the ‘unexpected’ happens to a group conductor, it can be disturbing but it can also provide an excellent learning opportunity. This article explores the response of a therapy group to an unexpected event—one that had an impact on containment—and looks at what can be learnt from a theoretical perspective. A musical analogy is used to highlight the power of the ‘expected unexpected’ and there is a focus on the issue of pattern recognition as it arises in both music and psychotherapy. This leads to a consideration of ideas about change from writers such as Zinkin, Stacey and Garland. Bringing these theories together with Foulkes’ group specific factors of resonance and location, I argue that the ‘unexpected’ is a crucial and perhaps necessary element for change in an analytic group.
The Urbanity of Movement
Authors: Simone AbdouMaliq
Published: August 2011

The economies of Africa’s largest metropolitan regions reflect a contested intersection of orientations, practices, demands, values, and articulations to the larger world. While rural to urban migration may have substantially decreased, the circulation of populations within metropolitan regions, across primary and secondary cities, and along increasingly elaborated transnational circuits of movement and exchange raise important questions about conventional notions of population movement. As planning mechanisms tend to assume certain stability in the relationship of population to place, what kinds of understanding of movements may be necessary to engage the variegated ways that cities are articulated through these movements?
The Cherokee Syllabary: A Writing System In Its Own Right
Authors: Cushman Ellen
Published: August 2011

Informally recognized by the tribal council in 1821, the 86-character Cherokee writing system invented by Sequoyah was learned in manuscript form and became widely used by the Cherokee within the span of a few years. In 1827, Samuel Worcester standardized the arrangement of characters and print designs in ways that differed from Sequoyah’s original arrangement of characters. Using Worcester’s arrangement as their sole source of evidence, however, scholars and Cherokee language learners have misunderstood the syllabary by viewing it through an alphabetic lens. Drawing on 5 years of ethnohistorical research, this article opens with a brief history of Sequoyah’s invention to show the ways Worcester’s rearrangement bent the Cherokee writing system to the orthographic rules of the Latin alphabet, thus obscuring the instrumental logics of the original script. Next, a linguistic analysis of the Cherokee writing system is presented in an effort to recover its instrumental workings. Adding a new perspective to research on American literacy histories in general and scholarship on the Cherokee syllabary in particular, the author argues that the Cherokee language demands a writing system uniquely Cherokee, one practiced outside of an alphabetic influence and capable of representing underlying meaning and sound with each character.
Performance of square and inclined insulated rail joints based on field strain measurements
Authors: Dhanasekar M , Bayissa W
Published: August 2011

Insulated rail joints (IRJs) possess lower bending stiffness across the gap containing insulating endpost and hence are subjected to wheel impact. IRJs are either square cut or inclined cut to the longitudinal axis of the rails in a vertical plane. It is generally claimed that the inclined cut IRJs outperform the square cut IRJs; however, there is a paucity of literature with regard to the relative structural merits of these two designs. This article presents comparative studies of the structural response of these two IRJs to the passage of wheels based on continuously acquired field data from joints strain-gauged closer to the source of impact. Strain signatures are presented in time, frequency, and wavelet domains and the peak vertical and shear strains are systematically employed to examine the relative structural merits of the two IRJs subjected to similar real-life loading. It is shown that the inclined IRJs resist the wheel load with higher peak shear strains and lower peak vertical strains than that of the square IRJs.
Enhanced CCR5+/CCR3+ T helper cell ratio in patients with active cutaneous lupus erythematosus
Authors: Freutel S , Gaffal E , Zahn S , Bieber T , Tüting T , Wenzel J
Published: August 2011

Cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) is characterized by enhanced interferon α (IFNα) levels in serum and in tissue. Since IFNα promotes a Th1-biased immune response, we hypothesized that a Th1-associated chemokine receptor profile should be a typical finding in patients with active CLE. Therefore, peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from patients with different CLE subsets ( n = 15), healthy controls ( n = 13) and patients under immunotherapy with IFNα ( n = 7). T helper cells were analysed by flow cytometry for the expression of the chemokines receptor CCR5, indicative for Th1 cells, and of CCR3, indicating Th2. In addition, intracellular levels of the type I IFN-inducible MxA protein were measured. Patients with widespread active CLE skin lesions had a significantly increased expression of CCR5, whereas expression of CCR3 was decreased when compared with healthy controls. MxA expression was significantly enhanced in all investigated CLE subtypes, with the highest levels in patientswith widespread skin lesions. The enhanced CCR5/CCR3 ratio closely correlated with the MxA levels in peripheral lymphocytes and with disease activity. Our analyses revealedthat active CLE is associated with a systemic type I IFN effect that appears toinduce a shift towards a Th1-associated chemokine receptor profile. The CCR5/CCR3 T-helper cell ratio might therefore represent an indirect marker for the disease activity in CLE.
Implications of immunosuppressive agents in cardiovascular risks and carotid intima media thickness among lupus nephritis patients
Authors: Sazliyana S , Mohd Shahrir MS , Kong CT Norella , Tan HJ , Hamidon BB , Azmi MT
Published: August 2011

Introduction: Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, particularly with lupus nephritis (LN), are at risk of premature cardiovascular (CV) disease.

Objective: To determine the association between immunosuppressive medications, traditional CV risk factors and carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) among patients with LN.

Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study in which consecutive LN patients attending the Nephrology/SLE Clinic were evaluated for traditional CV risk factors. Detailed information on their treatment was obtained from their medical records. CIMT, an excellent marker of subclinical atherosclerosis, was measured by B Mode carotid ultrasound.

Results: A total of 82 patients with LN with a mean age of 33.9 ± 9.8 years were recruited. More than half had hypertension ( n = 55, 67.1%) and dyslipidemia ( n = 43, 52.4%) as traditional CV risks. Longer history and higher cumulative dose of corticosteroids were associated with hypertension, but use of intravenous methylprednisolone was associated with lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure and lower serum total cholesterol and triglyceride levels ( p < 0.05 each). Hydroxychloroquine use was associated with lower total serum cholesterol and serum low-density lipoprotein levels ( p < 0.05). Although the use of cyclosporine A (CyA) was associated with hypertension ( p < 0.05), those who received a lower cumulative dose of CyA had thicker CIMT ( rs = -0.33, p =0.01) and CyA use remained an independent predictor of CIMT during linear regression analysis. There were no associations between CIMT and cumulative dose and duration of steroids, hydroxychloroquine, azathioprine, mycophenolic acid and cyclophosphamide.

Conclusion: Aggressive treatment of severe LN and the use of CyA as a steroid-sparing agent may have protective effects against premature atherosclerosis.
Corporate Social Work or ‘Being’ Empowered and ‘Doing’ Empowerment
Authors: Chatterjee Arnab
Published: August 2011

Is there a corporate social work? Do business corporations as a part of their ‘social responsibility’ aim to socially empower the community by enhancing their basic ‘capability’ registers? While the newly acquired critical conscience has made social work ethics self-reflexive and thus interrogative about a lot of concept-metaphors taken for granted in traditional social work discourse, the language of ‘empowerment’ seems to have still bullied this apocalyptic, experimental eye. All the negative effects of power are lost in the blood of positive nonchalance that seems to promise the granting of power to the people people’s empowerment)—as if. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) leading to social empowerment which we term as—Corporate Social Work (CSW)—thus is affirmed in more ways than one. This article—instead of an external (typical of the radical) disavowal—offers through a theoretical and an empirical problematic—an internal unpacking of the concept metaphor ‘empowerment’—where ‘empowerment’, ‘doing empowerment’ and ‘being empowered’ are demonstrated to be completely separate registers awaiting an ethical reckoning. Having completed this separation—however, the article proposes a discourse ethical monitoring of the capability approach where empowerment participates only as a (’three-way’) fractured phrase in dispute.
‘Social Issue Is Business Issue’
Authors: Rath Pragyan
Published: August 2011

The Management Centre for Human Values (MCHV) along with the participants of the Post-Graduate Program for Executives (PGPEX) and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC) arranged a seminar on Socially Conscious Leadership, or the Lattice 2010, on 19 December 2010. The seminar debate on the role of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in contemporary business makes for an interesting note that would befit the Journal of Human Values (JHV). This is so because the invitees to the seminar, through their singular and idiosyncratic narration of experiences, have inevitably problematized the basic concepts of CSR itself. Concepts like ‘human values’, ‘ethics’, ‘social consciousness’ no longer exist as water-tight compartments of traditional or even autonomous sanctuaries of humane goodness. These concepts have been transformed from ‘value-adding’ propositions to ‘value-appropriating’ propositions, or in other words, social issues have become business issues. A wide spectrum of views coming from Gen. Bajwa, representing the army; Prof. Chaudhuri and Prof. Bhatta, representing administrative academia; Sri Salvi and Sri Tyagi, endorsing real-life CSR; Mr Ahir and Mr Rayaprolu, representing the corporate; Ms Vatsa and Ms Swami, representing NGOs; and Prof. Sarkar, Prof. Mohanty and Prof. Chatterjee, representing the academicians; along with the presence of Ms M. Bhattacharya from ONGC—all of them have aided and abetted in establishing the contemporary position of CSR as a successful and competitive business proposition. The note addresses the issues developed from their individual experiences and opinions, and attempts to establish, but on an individual level, an intellectual point of departure for an academic discussion of CSR that would initiate further potent research and theorization in this regard.
Continuous subjective loudness responses to reversals and inversions of a sound recording of an orchestral excerpt
Authors: Ferguson Sam , Schubert Emery , Dean Roger T.
Published: August 2011

Twenty-four respondents continuously rated the loudness of the first 65 seconds of a Dvořák Slavonic Dance, which was known to vary considerably in loudness. They also rated the same excerpt when the sound file was digitally treated so that (1) the sound pressure level (SPL) was inverted or (2) it was temporally reversed or (3) both 1 and 2. Specifically we wanted to see if acoustic intensity was processed into the percept of loudness primarily using a bottom-up (indifferent to timbral environment and thematic cues) or top-down style (where musical context, such as instrument identity and musical expectation affects the loudness rating). Comparing the different versions (conditions) allowed us to ascertain which style they were likely to be using. A single, six-second region was located as being differentiated across two conditions, where loudness seemed to be increased due to expectation of the instrument and orchestral texture, despite the lower SPL. We named this effect an auditory loudness stroop. A second region was differentiated between the two conditions, but its explanation appears to involve two factors, auditory looming perception and the reversal of stimulus note ramps. The overall conclusion was that the predominant processing style for loudness rating was bottom-up. Implications for further research and application to models of loudness are discussed.
Beyond the Rhetoric of Participatory Research in Indigenous Communities
Authors: Kendall Elizabeth , Sunderland Naomi , Barnett Leda , Nalder Glenda , Matthews Christopher
Published: August 2011

Evidence-based approaches to health care have been difficult to achieve in Indigenous populations across the world, a situation which has contributed to the significant health disparities found in this group. One reason for the inadequacy of evidence-based health interventions is that empirical knowledge tends to be organized around professional disciplines that are grounded in Western ways of knowing. In this article we describe events that have led to more appropriate research methods in Australia, and the resulting changes in the research community. The principles that have guided Australian research policy development might not yet be fully matured, but the improvements we have experienced over the last several decades have gone a long way toward acknowledging the significant disparities that affect Indigenous people and the role of researchers in addressing this issue.
Learning About Governance Through Nonprofit Board Service
Authors: Purdy Jill M. , Lawless Joseph
Published: August 2011

Business educators have a responsibility to ensure that future managers, employees, and shareholders are well versed in governance. Governance provides a vital link between organizations and society, allowing people to place their trust in an organization, support its mission, and ensure a continuing flow of resources to accomplish the mission. This article discusses coursework in board governance that combines a 5-month internship on a community nonprofit board with academic class work on governance topics to create a unique learning opportunity. The course combines elements of internship, mentorship, and service learning with more traditional academic activities such as lectures, guest speakers, research, and analysis. Students gain greater awareness of the needs of the broader community and the challenges of serving them. The community gains from a growing pool of people with governance knowledge and skills who understand the value of community service.
Serum from interferon-β-1b-treated patients with early multiple sclerosis stabilizes the blood–brain barrier in vitro
Authors: Müller Marcus , Frese Achim , Nassenstein Isabelle , Hoppen Maike , Marziniak Martin , Ringelstein Erich Bernd , Kim Kwang Sik , Schäbitz Wolf-Rüdiger , Kraus Jörg
Published: August 2011

Interferon-β (IFN-β) stabilizes the blood–brain barrier (BBB) in vitro. Here we investigated the effect of serum from 15 IFN-β-1b-treated multiple sclerosis (MS) patients on the permeability read-outs of small solutes in an in vitro BBB model consisting of human brain microvascular endothelial cells in co-culture with rat astrocytes. The addition of sera from IFN-β-treated patients resulted in a significantly ( p < 0.05) reduced permeability as compared with untreated patients. Our findings show that sera from IFN-β-1b-treated MS patients have a stabilizing effect on the in vitro BBB. We suggest an unknown potentially pro-inflammatory factor in the serum of MS patients that may lead to a BBB dysfunction and can be modulated by IFN-β.
No increase in cancer incidence detected after cyclophosphamide in a French cohort of patients with progressive multiple sclerosis
Authors: Le Bouc R , Zéphir H , Majed B , Vérier A , Marcel M , Vermersch P
Published: August 2011

Background: Cyclophosphamide is still used in progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) in view of its suggested efficacy and safety in the short term. No data exist on its long-term safety in MS, particularly on the risk of malignancy.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate cancer incidence in MS after cyclophosphamide treatment.

Methods: We performed a historical prospective study in a cohort of MS patients treated with cyclophosphamide. We collected demographic data and medical history from medical databases and patient interviews. Reported cancers were histologically confirmed. Cancer incidence was compared with the incidence in the general population by estimating standardized incidence ratios (SIRs).

Results: We included 354 patients, with a median follow-up of 5 years (range 2–15) after cyclophosphamide treatment. Fifteen patients developed a solid cancer, which occurred at a median of 3 years (range 0.5–14) after cyclophosphamide introduction. The cumulative incidence of cancer after cyclophosphamide was 3.1% at 5 years and 5.9% at 8 years. We found no increase in cancer incidence after cyclophosphamide treatment in men (SIR = 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.30–1.82), women (SIR = 0.99, 95% CI 0.43–1.95), or men and women combined (SIR = 0.92, 95% CI 0.50–1.54).

Conclusion: We found no evidence of an increased risk of cancer associated with cyclophosphamide treatment in MS patients.
Fatigue and its relationships with cognitive functioning and depression in paediatric multiple sclerosis
Authors: Goretti B , Portaccio E , Ghezzi A , Lori S , Moiola L , Falautano M , Viterbo R , Patti F , Vecchio R , Pozzilli C , Bianchi V , Cappiello S , Comi G , Trojano M , Amato MP ,   for the Multiple Sclerosis Study Group of the Italian Neurological Society
Published: August 2011

Background: There is limited information on fatigue and its clinical and psychosocial correlates in children and adolescents with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Objective: To assess the relationships between fatigue, cognitive functioning and depression in paediatric MS.

Methods: The study cohort consisted of patients with MS recruited for an Italian collaborative study on cognitive and psychosocial functioning in paediatric MS. The present assessment included evaluation of fatigue on the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory-Multidimensional Fatigue Scale, cognitive functioning on an extensive neuropsychological battery and depression on the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI). A psychiatric interview through the Kiddie-SADS-Present and Lifetime Version was also administered.

Results: In total, 57 patients with relapsing–remitting MS were compared with 70 healthy controls. Percentages of fatigued patients ranged from 9% to 14% according to self-reports, and from 23% to 39% according to parent reports. Fatigue was significantly related with higher scores on the CDI ( p < 0.03). Higher levels of self-reported cognitive fatigue were associated with impaired performance on a problem-solving test, whereas higher levels of parent-reported cognitive fatigue were associated with impairment on tests of verbal learning, processing speed, complex attention and verbal comprehension.

Conclusions: Our data show that fatigue can affect a sizeable proportion of paediatric MS patients, and confirm the association between fatigue and depressive symptoms in MS. They also highlight the difficulties of fatigue assessment in the paediatric population and provide a few clues to further research in the field.
Giant syphilitic aortic aneurysm: A case report and review of the literature
Authors: Tomey Matthew I , Murthy Venkatesh L , Beckman Joshua A
Published: August 2011

Thoracic aortic aneurysm formation is a known complication of late syphilis. Large aneurysms may cause symptoms via mass effect. When aneurysms compress the pulmonary artery, pulmonary arterial hypertension and right heart failure may result. We report the case of a 76-year-old man who presented with right heart failure secondary to an 11-cm syphilitic thoracic aortic aneurysm, and discuss the evolving epidemiology, complications, diagnosis and management of syphilitic aortitis.
British Muslims, memory and identity: Representations in British film and television documentary
Authors: Macdonald Myra
Published: August 2011

This article explores representations of the memories of British Muslims of South Asian origin in British television documentary and film. Recent media emphasis on current Muslim identities devalues memory’s capacity to illuminate the formation and renegotiation of identities. In fictional texts where memories feature, Muslim identities are frequently subsumed under a generic ‘South Asian identity’ within stereotyped tropes of generational conflict or contrasts between ‘back home’ and ‘home in Britain’, while specifically Muslim identities are highlighted only in narratives designating Muslims as ‘problems’. Documentary places more emphasis on the relational aspects of identity formation, stressing intergenerational links and interaction between migrants’ preconceptions and subsequent experiences of Britain. Although still marginalized in the schedules, documentaries’ everyday presentation of British Muslims’ memory narrations confronts conceptions of Muslim identities as defined solely by religion, subverts the constructed binary between ‘Muslim’ and ‘British’ identities, and suggests the diversity of identities within a population that is normatively homogenized.
‘Anyone can know’: Citizen journalism and the interpretive community of the mainstream press
Authors: Robinson Sue , DeShano Cathy
Published: August 2011

In Madison, WI, two news groups – bloggers and local reporters – are squaring off, developing separate value systems and establishing protocols of intergroup activity. This study explored those framing values and documented individual role play within this Midwestern city’s information-producing community. An informal interpretive community of citizen journalists offers ways of knowing distinct from the way the press has traditionally practiced, negotiated and shared news stories. Interviews with citizens and professional journalists revealed convergences between these groups of news writers as well as dichotomies. This evidence showed that both the entrenched community of journalists and the emerging one of citizen news writers are framed by values of socially responsible missions, access to information, entitlement to knowledge and informal notions of professionalism. When ‘anyone can know’ – a quote from these interviews – the result is an adaptive organization of information producers that influence each other and redefine the aims, standards and ideology of journalism.