bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Integrin Inhibitors as a Therapeutic Agent for Ovarian Cancer
Authors: Sawada Kenjiro , Ohyagi-Hara Chifumi , Kimura Tadashi , Morishige Ken-ichirou
Published: December 2011

Ovarian cancer is a deadly disease, with a cure rate of only 30%. Despite aggressive treatments, relapse remains almost inevitable in patients with advanced-stage disease. In recent years, great progress has been made towards targeting integrins in cancer treatment, and clinical studies with various integrin inhibitors have demonstrated their effectiveness in blocking cancer progression. Given that the initial critical step of ovarian cancer metastasis is the attachment of cancer cells onto the peritoneum or omentum, in addition to the proven positive clinical results of anti-angiogenic therapy, targeting integrins is likely to be one of the most feasible approaches. This paper summarizes the current understanding of the integrin biology in ovarian cancer metastasis and the various therapeutic approaches attempted with integrin inhibitors. Although no integrin inhibitors have shown favorable results so far, integrin-targeted therapies continue to be a promising approach to be explored for further clinical investigation.
Changes in Growth Hormone Receptor Gene Expression during Therapy in Children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
Authors: Bozzola Elena , Pagani Sara , Meazza Cristina , Cortis Elisabetta , Lisini Daniela , Laarej Kamilia , Bozzola Mauro
Published: December 2011

Background: High levels of cytokines in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) can alter target cell sensitivity to growth hormone (GH) leading to short stature in adulthood. We hypothesized that the down-regulation of GH receptor (GHR) gene expression could be involved in growth failure of children with JIA. Methods: In 18 (12 F and 6 M) prepubertal JIA patients and 13 age- and sex-matched healthy children, we evaluated serum growth-promoting factors and inflammatory indexes. We also measured GHR gene expression, by real-time PCR, in lymphocytes of patients and controls. All parameters were evaluated in patients before and after treatment of JIA. Results: The most interesting (p = 0.007) result was the increase in GHR mRNA expression in all JIA patients. Moreover, we observed a significant (p = 0.0156) decrease in IL-6 levels in JIA patients after 2 years of therapy (19.37 ± 41.01) with respect to basal values (90.84 ± 124.71). On the contrary, IGF-I significantly (p = 0.0005) increased to a mean SDS value of 0 (range -1.69 to +1.70 SDS) with respect to values at disease onset (-0.64 SDS). Conclusions: Our preliminary data suggest that the restoration of both GHR gene expression and IGF-I secretion correlate with inactive disease in JIA children.
Mineralocorticoid Receptor-Dependent Proximal Tubule Injury Is Mediated by a Redox-Sensitive mTOR/S6K1 Pathway
Authors: Whaley-Connell Adam T. , Habibi Javad , Nistala Ravi , DeMarco Vincent G. , Pulakat Lakshmi , Hayden Melvin R. , Joginpally Tejaswini , Ferrario Carlos M. , Parrish Alan R. , Sowers James R.
Published: December 2011

Background/Aims: The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a serine kinase that regulates phosphorylation (p) of its target ribosomal S6 kinase (S6K1), whose activation can lead to glomerular and proximal tubular cell (PTC) injury and associated proteinuria. Increased mTOR/S6K1 signaling regulates signaling pathways that target fibrosis through adherens junctions. Recent data indicate aldosterone signaling through the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) can activate the mTOR pathway. Further, antagonism of the MR has beneficial effects on proteinuria that occur independent of hemodynamics. Methods: Accordingly, hypertensive transgenic TG(mRen2)27 (Ren2) rats, with elevated serum aldosterone and proteinuria, and age-matched Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with either a low dose (1 mg/kg/day) or a conventional dose (30 mg/kg/day) of spironolactone (MR antagonist) or placebo for 3 weeks. Results: Ren2 rats displayed increases in urine levels of the PTC brush border lysosomal enzyme N-acetyl-β-aminoglycosidase (β-NAG) in conjunction with reductions in PTC megalin, the apical membrane adherens protein T-cadherin and basolateral α-(E)-catenin, and fibrosis. In concert with these abnormalities, Ren2 renal cortical tissue also displayed increased Ser2448 (p)/activation of mTOR and Thr389 (p)-S6K1 and increased 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) content, a marker for peroxynitrite. Low-dose spironolactone had no effect on blood pressure but decreased proteinuria and β-NAG comparable to a conventional dose of this MR antagonist. Both doses of spironolactone attenuated ultrastructural maladaptive alterations and led to comparable reductions in (p)-mTOR/(p)-S6K1, 3-NT, fibrosis, and increased expression of α-(E)-catenin, T- and N-cadherin. Conclusions: Thereby, MR antagonism improves proximal tubule integrity by targeting mTOR/S6K1 signaling and redox status independent of changes in blood pressure.
Contractual Partnerships in the Geniza and the Relationship between Islamic Law and Practice
Authors: Ackerman-Lieberman Phillip I.
Published: December 2011

Abstract

It is the consensus of scholars that Jewish merchants in the medieval Islamic world structured their economic relationships according to the norms of a broad, “Islamic” marketplace. Legal agreements found in the Cairo Geniza show that, on the contrary, these merchants adhered to the norms of Jewish law. I discuss the implications of this finding for the study of Jewish and Islamic social, economic, and legal history, for which the Geniza documents are an important direct witness.
Instructive Memory: An Analysis of Auto/Biographical Writing in Early Mughal India
Authors: Zaman Taymiya R.
Published: December 2011

Abstract

This article analyzes three early Mughal auto/biographical texts written at the order of Akbar as forms of instructive memory, and contextualizes these texts within an existing body of writings about akhlāq literature and literary genres. In doing so, this article discusses how auto/biographical narratives in Mughal India were both collected and collective, and how the didactic undercurrents of these texts relied upon individuated notions of character and kingship presented through the figure of Humayun. By reading lived experience across genres that often contained elements of one another, this article places interconnected Mughal lives as central to textual renderings of the past.
A Tale of Two Celebrations: The Pesta Kaamatan as a Site of Struggle between a Minority and the State in Sabah, East Malaysia
Authors: Barlocco Fausto
Published: December 2011

Abstract

The paper looks at the Harvest Festival of the Kadazandusun people of Sabah, East Malaysia, as a site of struggle between the ethnic group and the state over the role the culture of this minority should have in the national culture. While the state tries to impose its vision of a hybrid Malaysian nation controlled by the Malay ruling parties, and the ethnic elites to use identity as a political rallying point, Kadazan villagers react by attributing the highest value to ‘lived culture’ and identities affording participation rather than to the objectified culture and reifications over which both elites compete.
A Scythian Burial-Mound with a Sarcophagus Bearing Painted Decoration
Authors: Bunyatyan Ekaterina P. , Fialko Elena E.
Published: December 2011

Abstract

In 1976 an expedition of the Archaeology Institute of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic investigated Scythian Burial-mound No. 9 in a group of burial-mounds near the village of Mar’evka in the Zaporozhie District of the Zaporozhie Region. The mound had been erected from blocks of turf in the manner traditional for the Scythians. Later on a Polovtsian shrine was evidently erected on top of the mound but in the post-Medieval period this would appear to have been destroyed (the base and the lower part of a statue have survived intact). The mound was erected over a grave in the form of a catacomb with two entrances and a burial of a bridled horse in a separate pit. The grave was looted in antiquity. Among the remains of grave goods typical for Scythian burials of various levels rare items were also discovered, including fragments of a sword with one cutting edge, a gold ring with a coin used for its bezel (a Pantikapaion stater). The most remarkable find of all was a board from the lid of a sarcophagus bearing painted decoration. The decoration, applied in three tiers, consisted of battle scenes depicting three pairs of fighting warriors. The attire, weaponry and poses of the warriors make it possible to assume that the decoration illustrates one of the motifs from the mythology of Ancient Greece – Amazonomachy.

The dimensions and arrangement of the burial-chamber and the diverse grave goods indicate that a number of individuals had been buried in it – an individual of high rank accompanied by his servants. Details of the funerary rite (the overall lay-out of the grave and its details, features of the horse burial) and also the range of artefacts enable us to date the burial-mound to the very end of the 4th or beginning of the 3rd century BC.
Matthew Schoffeleers (1928-2011)
Authors: van Binsbergen Wim M.J.
Published: December 2011

Abstract

An obituary of Matthew Schoffeleers, a leading Dutch anthropologist of Malawi and of African religion, presenting his life, his work (under the headings of: religious anthropology; historicising anthropology; African religion and the state; religion and development; African religion and Christian theology), and a provisional appraisal.
Introduction: The Poetics of the Eruv
Authors: Olin Margaret
Published: December 2011

Abstract

The eruv is a talmudic provision that permits orthodox Jews to carry small objects outside of their homes on the Sabbath, a practice that would otherwise be forbidden on that day. Often intended to be visible, it is marked in a variety of ways with a range of materials, and frequently serves as a metaphor for relations within a community, as suggested in the articles and works of art included in the symposium and portfolio to which this essay serves as an introduction.
Imaginary Space meets Actual Space in Thirteenth-Century Cologne: Eliezer Ben Joel and the Eruv
Authors: Perry Micha J.
Published: December 2011

Abstract

Eliezer Ben Joel ha-Levi’s Laws of Eruv, a crucial text in the medieval history of the eruv, redefines ancient definitions of space to fit that of a medieval town. It uses talmudic terminology to describe medieval reality; it reinterprets this terminology to fit this reality; and rules in a way that enables the whole Jewish quarter to be seen as one private space. This ruling shows that in medieval Europe the eruv was redefined to encompass the entire Jewish neighborhood. Thus, predating the walled Jewish quarter and Ghettos, the Jews defined their habitats in the town as a close (although not yet an exclusive) Jewish space, and created a city within a city: a Jewish one within the Christian one. This phenomenon corresponds to the rise of the “community” as the boundary line of Jewish identity.
Description of a new, possibly extinct, species of flightless Trox F. (Coleoptera: Trogidae) from South Africa
Authors: Scholtz Clarke H. , Strümpher Werner P.
Published: December 2011

A new species, which may already be extinct, of flightless Trox, T. youngai sp.n., is described based on specimens collected 30 years ago from a now severely transformed area in South Africa. It is one of seven members of the natalensis-group of Trox species. All have very localised distributions in small fragments of once considerably larger habitats along the greater eastern escarpment and the coastal edge of southern Africa. is description brings the total number of endemic flightless Trox in the region to 14. A key to the species in the natalensis-group is provided. Furthermore, pronotal and elytral features of diagnostic value are tabulated to aid in the identification of members of this group. All species are illustrated by photographs of habitus and male aedeagi. A map is provided showing the distributions for each of them.
Conductas violentas de los adolescentes hacia las figuras de autoridad: el papel mediador de las conductas antisociales
Authors: Jaureguizar Joana , Ibabe Izaskun
Published: December 2011

El objetivo del estudio era analizar las conductas violentas y prosociales de los adolescentes hacia padres y profesores y la relación de dichas conductas con el clima familiar y escolar. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 687 adolescentes de ambos sexos y de edades comprendidas entre los 12 y 16 años de la provincia de Guipúzcoa (España). Los adolescentes informaron de niveles superiores de conductas prosociales hacia los padres que hacia los profesores, pero no había diferencias en relación a las conductas violentas. En el contexto familiar la cohesión y el conflicto, mediadas por las conductas antisociales, fueron factores predictores de la violencia filio-parental. Del mismo modo, la organización escolar y el conflicto familiar mediadas por las conductas antisociales de los adolescentes resultaron predictores significativos de la violencia contra los profesores. De ello se desprende que el conflicto familiar es un importante factor de riesgo tanto para las conductas antisociales como para las conductas violentas hacia las figuras de autoridad.
Downscaling of Seasonal Rainfall over the Philippines: Dynamical versus Statistical Approaches
Authors: Robertson Andrew W. , Qian Jian-Hua , Tippett Michael K. , Moron Vincent , Lucero Anthony
Published: December 2011

The additional value derived from a regional climate model (RCM) nested within general circulation model (GCM) seasonal simulations, over and above statistical methods of downscaling, is compared over the Philippines for the April–June monsoon transition season. Spatial interpolation of RCM and GCM gridbox values to station locations is compared with model output statistics (MOS) correction. The anomaly correlation coefficient (ACC) skill at the station scale of seasonal total rainfall is somewhat higher in the RCM compared to the GCM when using spatial interpolation. However, the ACC skills obtained using MOS of the GCM or RCM wind fields are shown to be generally—and rather equally—superior. The ranked probability skill scores (RPSS) are also generally much higher when using MOS, with slightly higher scores in the GCM case. Very high skills were found for MOS correction of daily rainfall frequency as a function of GCM and RCM seasonal-average low-level wind fields, but with no apparent advantage from the RCM. MOS-corrected monsoon onset dates often showed skill values similar to those of seasonal rainfall total, with good skill over the central Philippines. Finally, it is shown that the MOS skills decrease markedly and become inferior to those of spatial interpolation when the length of the 28-yr training set is halved. The results may be region dependent, and the excellent station data coverage and strong impact of ENSO on the Philippines may be factors contributing to the good MOS performance when using the full-length dataset over the Philippines.
Cultural Differences in Implicit Theories and Self-Perceptions of Traitedness
Authors: Church A. Timothy , Willmore Stephanie L. , Anderson Adisa T. , Ochiai Masayuki , Porter Noriko , Mateo Niño Jose , Reyes Jose Alberto S. , Vargas-Flores José de Jesús , Ibáñez-Reyes Joselina , Alvarez Juan M. , Katigbak Marcia S. , Ortiz Fernando A.
Published: December 2011

Cultural differences in implicit theories and self-perceptions of traitedness were examined in the United States ( N = 198), Mexico ( N = 257), the Philippines ( N = 212), and Japan ( N = 225). Participants in all four cultures endorsed beliefs about the longitudinal stability, cross-situational consistency, and predictive validity of traits. At the same time, Americans and Mexicans, more than Filipinos and Japanese, endorsed implicit trait or dispositionist perspectives and described their own behavior as traited or consistent (i.e., lower in self-monitoring). Alternative measurement formats were compared and led to the conclusion that forced-choice measures may be advantageous in some cases, particularly when acquiescence bias may impact cross-cultural comparisons. Cultural differences were observed in participants’ perceptions of the individualism-collectivism, dialecticism, and tightness-looseness of their respective cultures and these measures partially mediated some of the cultural differences in traitedness. Overall, the results supported an integration of trait and cultural psychology perspectives, leading to a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between culture and personality.
The Effects of Personal Values on Travel Motivation and Behavioral Intention
Authors: Li Mimi , Cai Liping A.
Published: December 2011

Culture has been widely proposed by marketing theorists as one of the underlying determinants of consumer behavior. Empirical inquiries in the field of tourism remain scarce, particularly in the understanding of its behavioral influences. The study reported in this article aims to fill the gap by investigating the effect of cultural values on travel motivation and behavioral intention. The analysis of survey data from outbound Chinese tourists reveals that both internal and external values exert a significantly positive effect on travel motivation. Behavioral intention is affected only by internal values. The novelty dimension of travel motivation directly affects behavioral intention. The findings are examined in the context of the rising significance and uniqueness of Chinese outbound tourism. Pragmatic and theoretical implications are discussed.
I Am Having a Dilemma
Authors: Chien P. Monica , Ritchie Brent W. , Shipway Richard , Henderson Holly
Published: December 2011

The purpose of this study is to better understand factors underlying local residents’ responses to mega event development. The authors suggest that residents’ intention to give or withhold support of hosting an event in the community can be viewed as a social dilemma and examine the effects of event publicity, perceived fairness of event portrayal, and residents’ commitment to the event. In a field study that assesses the impact of 2012 Olympic and Paralympic sailing events on residents at Weymouth and Portland, United Kingdom, the study finds that event publicity is linked to residents’ supporting behaviors indirectly through commitment. Perceived fairness of event portrayal is identified as a moderator of the event publicity effect. Specifically, when media reports of the event are considered biased or unfair, the effect of both positive and negative event publicity is attenuated. The findings have implications for event organizations and local authorities in stakeholder relationship management.
Identifying and Ranking the Determinants of Tourism Performance
Authors: Assaf A. George , Josiassen Alexander
Published: December 2011

After a prolonged period of growth, driven, in part, by an increasing number of affluent consumers, the international tourism industry is now suffering the effects of a weaker world economy. These tougher market conditions have, in turn, led to increasing competition. As a result, countries, their tourism industries, and tourism businesses seek to improve the performance of the tourism industry and its constituents by vigorously promoting themselves to international tourists, cutting costs, and identifying synergies in their tourism endeavors. In seeking to improve the tourism industry, the determinants that affect tourism performance are of key interest to the stakeholders. A key obstacle toward improving performance is the multitude of determinants that can affect tourism performance. The literature has yet to provide concrete insights into the determinants of tourism performance and their relative importance. The present study addresses this important gap. We identify and rank the determinants of tourism performance. We also provide performance measures of international tourism destinations. The results are derived using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and bootstrap truncated regression models. The study also discusses the implications of the findings and highlights their importance to both the academic literature and the international tourism industry.
Local Arts Agencies as Destination Management Organizations
Authors: Hager Mark A. , Sung HeeKyung
Published: December 2011

Local arts agencies have entered the local ecology of destination management in the United States as part of the network of organizations seeking to attract cultural tourists. This role has been virtually ignored in both the tourism and the community arts literatures. A national survey of local arts agencies reflects a substantial proportion that report involvement in cultural tourism development. Narrative analysis of descriptions of cultural tourism strategy reveals a range of activities, especially strategic marketing, development of products, and organizational learning through collaborative partnerships. Unexpected among destination management organizations, we learn that local arts agencies are substantially involved in the development of cultural products geared toward facilitating tourism. We propose that future research on destination management should recognize the position and value of local arts agencies in community-level development of cultural tourism.
Tourism Market Segmentation Based on Price Sensitivity
Authors: Masiero Lorenzo , Nicolau Juan L.
Published: December 2011

This article builds on the double role of the effect of prices on the choice of tourism activities: not only is it the sole component of the destination marketing mix that represents revenue but also a determinant factor in tourist choice. On this account, identifying patterns of tourists with different degrees of sensitivities to prices would help destinations design an appropriate bundle of activities and have a clear definition of the segment they should try to attract. Accordingly, the objective of this article is to identify tourist segments from individual price sensitivities to activities. The results show—although price has a dissuasive influence on the choice of activities—a differentiated effect (as this dissuasiveness is not general for all individuals); this heterogeneous responsiveness to price supports its use as a segmentation criterion. In the empirical application, four segments are found with significantly different price sensitivities.
Partners and Innovation in American Destination Marketing Organizations
Authors: Zach Florian
Published: December 2011

Innovation and interorganizational collaboration have been identified as important elements of competitive tourism strategies. This study proposes a model that relates aspects of organizational settings and collaboration to the success of innovation within the organization. In particular, this study focuses on destination marketing organizations (DMOs) as they collaborate with destination businesses to assist in the development of new services in marketing the destination. A national survey among American DMOs indicates that partner collaboration is a significant driver of visitor-orientated innovation. Specifically, innovation success was found to be driven solely by the development of market-oriented rather than strategy-oriented new services, indicating that many of the American DMOs respond to visitor changes at the expense of providing new services that somehow do not fit within current organizational setting. These findings suggest that DMO leadership needs to consider organizational changes in order to better support innovation at the destination.
The Role of Smartphones in Mediating the Touristic Experience
Authors: Wang Dan , Park Sangwon , Fesenmaier Daniel R.
Published: December 2011

Mobile phones have evolved to be smart computers (smartphones) supporting a wide range of information services that can be accessed anytime and from (almost) anywhere. With the increasing number of users and greater incursion into people’s life, smartphones have the potential to significantly influence the touristic experience. This study explores the mediation mechanisms of smartphones by examining stories provided by travelers related to their use of smartphones (and associated applications) for traveling purposes. The results reveal that smartphones can change tourists’ behavior and emotional states by addressing a wide variety of information needs; in particular, the instant information support of smartphones enables tourists to more effectively solve problems, share experiences, and “store” memories. The implications of these findings are important in that they suggest a huge potential for smartphones in changing many aspects of the tourism business.
Is Tourism a Low-Income Industry? Evidence from Three Coastal Regions
Authors: Lacher R.Geoffrey , Oh Chi-Ok
Published: December 2011

Tourism has been a popular development strategy based on its potential of economic impacts and job opportunities, but the quality of jobs created by tourism has received little empirical investigation. This article uses data from IMPLAN and the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics to examine the income distribution of jobs created by tourism and compares the income distribution from tourism expenditures to the income distribution in three different coastal regions with large tourism industries. To examine the distribution of income from tourism, an eight-step procedure was developed by modifying previous procedures for estimating income distribution. Study findings indicate that the jobs generated by tourism expenditures had a lower income distribution than the overall income distribution in the three regions, with the difference being most apparent in more urban areas. The various implications of the low-income distribution of the tourism industry are discussed.
Resident Attitudes to Tourism and Their Effect on Subjective Well-Being
Authors: Nawijn Jeroen , Mitas Ondrej
Published: December 2011

Subjective well-being in host–guest relations has only been considered from the viewpoint of the guest. This study addresses the host perspective and assesses the association between perceived tourism impacts and residents’ subjective well-being in a mass tourism destination. Findings indicate that perceived tourism impacts are associated with life satisfaction, the cognitive component, and not with hedonic level of affect, the affective component. The life domains of health, interpersonal relationships, friends, and services and infrastructure, in particular, are positively affected.
Predicting Offenders’ Criminogenic Cognitions With Status Variables
Authors: Mandracchia Jon T. , Morgan Robert D.
Published: December 2011

Certain thinking styles promote criminal behavior, and these criminogenic cognitions are not engaged in equally by all offenders. It is imperative to know which offenders are engaging in more criminogenic thinking so their problematic thinking can be targeted and altered during correctional treatment programming. In doing so, correctional mental health professionals may help reduce recidivism. In the current investigation, the researchers sought to identify offenders most likely to engage in criminogenic cognitions on the basis of status variables (i.e., demographic, incarceration, and mental health variables) using data from 595 adult male incarcerated offenders. Findings indicate that younger offenders, less educated offenders, Black and Hispanic offenders, single (i.e., not in a relationship) offenders, offenders without a violent index offense, offenders with a psychological disorder, and offenders not participating in mental health services all endorsed higher levels of some types of criminogenic cognitions. These findings have important implications for correctional mental health care practice toward criminal recidivism reduction.
Staff Beliefs About the Negotiation of Serious Prison Incidents
Authors: Walsh Jennie L. , Davies Jason , Bagshaw Ruth , Payne Elizabeth
Published: December 2011

Negotiation forms an important part of the response to serious incidents in prison, yet staff attitudes toward negotiation have been subject to very little formal investigation. This article presents the first research into a new scale, the Beliefs About Negotiation Scale. Preliminary investigation suggests that the scale has promising psychometric properties. With respect to convergent validity, the scale has overlap with the Attitude Towards Prisoners Scale. Divergent validity was demonstrated through the more positive attitudes toward negotiation among negotiators and incident commanders, in comparison to tactical staff and general staff. The implications for these findings are considered.
Business Location Decisions in the Medical Device Industry
Authors: Kimelberg Shelley McDonough , Nicoll Lauren A.
Published: December 2011

Medical device firms, like firms in the high-technology sector, often include business functions characteristic of both the industrial economy and the knowledge economy. Thus, it is not immediately clear which kinds of locational attributes (i.e., traditional cost-based factors or those concerned with attracting and retaining knowledge workers) are most influential in the site selection process. This study draws on survey data from 48 medical device firms in Massachusetts, a state with one of the largest clusters in the industry, to examine the relative importance of various factors and conditions in the location decision. A second objective is to consider the extent to which the rating of a given location factor varies depending on whether the firm maintains manufacturing facilities in the state. The implications of the findings for both location theory and economic development efforts are discussed.
Stability and Change in County Economic Development Organizations
Authors: Park Jongsun , Feiock Richard C.
Published: December 2011

How do counties arrange their organizations to promote economic development? Almost no information is available on administrative structures for economic development and how they change, particularly for counties. The results of this 2009 survey show that 16.0% of counties examined had shifted placement of the department for economic development in their governmental structure since 1999. Also, 17.5% of counties had experienced change in the most active organization supporting economic development in the county. Economic development within the executive and a separate department type are dominant in internal structures for county governments, and public organizations instead of public–private organizations are primarily responsible for implementing county economic development activities in the counties. In addition, counties located in urban areas and prodevelopment interests, environmental interests, and intergovernmental networks are related with changes in the two organizational dimensions.
Prospects for Poor Neighborhoods in the Broadband Era
Authors: Kaplan David , Mossberger Karen
Published: December 2011

This research explores the role of place in Internet use at work, investigating the role that neighborhood context may play in opportunities to gain technology skills and access to relatively better paying jobs. Examining both individual and neighborhood attributes, the authors carry out a comprehensive survey of individuals within three distinct cities in Northeast Ohio combined with a methodology that allows generation of location-specific contextual information. Together, these data are modeled in a series of logistic regressions that compare the importance of both individual and contextual attributes. The findings demonstrate that individual characteristics, especially job type, education, and income, are strongly related to workplace Internet use and that neighborhood unemployment is associated with lower probabilities of technology use at work.
Filtering 2008 US presidential election news on YouTube by elites and nonelites: An examination of the democratizing potential of the internet
Authors: Dylko Ivan B. , Beam Michael A. , Landreville Kristen D. , Geidner Nicholas
Published: December 2011

The goals of this study are to explore several claims about the democratizing potential of the internet and to extend gatekeeping theory into user-generated content (UGC) domain. A quantitative content analysis of the most popular YouTube political news videos during the 2008 US presidential election was conducted to investigate the degree to which nonelites were able to partake in mainstream public discourse. We found that elites dominated first and second filters (news sourcing and news production) in the flow of online news, while nonelites dominated the third filter (news distribution). These results suggest that an update to the traditional gatekeeping model is needed to reflect the realities of today’s user-driven communication environment.
From interpretation to consent: Arguments, beliefs and meaning
Authors: Oswald Steve
Published: December 2011

This article addresses the relationship between understanding and believing from the cognitive perspective of information-processing. I promote, within the scope of the Critical Discourse Analysis agenda, the relevance of an account of belief-fixation sustained by a combination of argumentative and cognitive insights. To this end, I first argue that discursive strategies fulfilling legitimization purposes, such as evidentials (see Hart, this issue), tap into the same cognitive mechanisms as (both sound and fallacious) arguments. I then proceed to examine the idea that the most effective arguments are the ones that manage to obscure or make irrelevant counter-evidence and propose, from a cognitive pragmatic perspective, a formulation of rhetorical effectiveness as a constraint on information-selection taking place at the interpretation stage and decisively influencing the evaluation stage responsible for belief-fixation.
‘Paving the way for research findings’: Writers’ rhetorical choices in education and applied linguistics
Authors: Lim Jason Miin-Hwa
Published: December 2011

Notwithstanding the existence of previous investigations into how research results are presented in different academic disciplines, fewer studies have looked into how authors pave the way for their results, the interdisciplinary differences in ‘result pavements’, and the interconnections between their communicative functions and linguistic choices. Using the techniques of genre analysis, I have analyzed two corpora of research reports in applied linguistics and education in order to identify the possible ways in which experienced writers schematically pave the way for their findings. Using evidence based on authentic research articles, this study demonstrates how writers set the stage for their research results by (i) demonstrating their control of the structure and flow of result-related information, (ii) connecting past research with a current finding while furnishing pertinent background elements that lead the readership progressively to specific findings, (iii) regenerating readers’ interest in their initial research purposes, and (iv) deploying locatives to embed results in a ‘space-saving strategy’ aimed at presenting an abridged Results section. I have also analyzed interdisciplinary differences in the frequencies of these rhetorical steps and the range of intricate linguistic mechanisms employed by authors as communicative resources in each step to establish a smooth rhetorical transition that sets the stage for their research results.
Dress for Success: A Journey from Past to Present Among Tibetans
Authors: Bassini Patrizia
Published: December 2011

This article examines the problem of what to wear among Tibetans in Qinghai, China. Starting with recent media coverage, which reported how Tibetan traditional attire is becoming a powerful political statement, I will attempt to illustrate how the dramatic transformations in the way Tibetans dress are not a new phenomenon but an ongoing process of the past ﬁfty years. From the analysis of people’s narratives and extended participant observation, it emerges that the choice of garments is of real concern to many Tibetan people as it communicates messages about the self and their position in the world. I contend that Tibetan men especially have strategically taken to wearing Western-style suits in an attempt to enact Han Chinese economic success.
A locus-specific database for mutations in GDAP1 allows analysis of genotype-phenotype correlations in Charcot-Marie-Tooth diseases type 4A and 2K
Authors: Cassereau Julien , Chevrollier Arnaud , Bonneau Dominique , Verny Christophe , Procaccio Vincent , Reynier Pascal , Ferré Marc
Published: December 2011

Background

The ganglioside-induced differentiation-associated protein 1 gene (GDAP1), which is involved in the Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy, encodes a protein anchored to the mitochondrial outer membrane. The phenotypic presentations of patients carrying GDAP1 mutations are heterogeneous, making it difficult to determine genotype-phenotype correlations, since the majority of the mutations have been found in only a few unrelated patients. Locus-specific databases (LSDB) established in the framework of the Human Variome Project provide powerful tools for the investigation of such rare diseases.

Methods and Results

We report the development of a publicly accessible LSDB for the GDAP1 gene. The GDAP1 LSDB has adopted the Leiden Open-source Variation Database (LOVD) software platform. This database, which now contains 57 unique variants reported in 179 cases of CMT, offers a detailed description of the molecular, clinical and electrophysiological data of the patients. The usefulness of the GDAP1 database is illustrated by the finding that GDAP1 mutations lead to primary axonal damage in CMT, with secondary demyelination in the more severe cases of the disease.

Conclusion

Findings of this nature should lead to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of CMT. Finally, the GDAP1 LSDB, which is part of the mitodyn.org portal of databases of genes incriminated in disorders involving mitochondrial dynamics and bioenergetics, should yield new insights into mitochondrial diseases.
The Self-activated Luminescence Properties of Blue-emitting Sr9Ga(PO4)7
Authors: Du Fuping , Huang Yanlin , Kim Sun Il , Seo Hyo Jin
Published: December 2011

The photoluminescence excitation and emission spectra of Sr9Ga(PO4)7 were investigated. This phosphor can be efficiently excited by VUV–UV light and X-ray irradiation and presents bright blue luminescence. The excitation and emission spectra of Sr9Ga(PO4)7 were compared with those of ZnGa2O4 and Eu2+-doped (10 mol %) BaMgAl10O17. Under the same conditions, the light yield of X-ray excited luminescence of Sr9Ga(PO4)7 is about 57% as large as that of scintillation crystal Bi4Ge3O12. The luminescence is suggested to be from the self-activation center of the octahedral Ga–O groups in the Sr9Ga(PO4)7 lattices.
Evidence of Local Heating of Catalyst during Soot Oxidation
Authors: Nanba Tetsuya , Masukawa Shoichi , Abe Akira , Uchisawa Junko , Obuchi Akira
Published: December 2011

During carbon black oxidation over Ag catalyst, the local temperature of the catalyst surface reached more than 1073 K, although observed oxidation peaks were around 650 and 750 K.
The Convenient and Useful Esterification of Bulky Tertiary Alcohols Using Strontium Compounds
Authors: Miyoshi Norikazu , Asaoka Masashi , Miyazaki Yasuaki , Tajima Takahiro , Kikuchi Makoto , Wada Makoto
Published: December 2011

Various esters reacted with metallic strontium and alkyl iodides to give dialkylated products, followed by adding acid chlorides or acid anhydrides to afford the corresponding bulky tert-alcohol esters in good yields.
Convenient Peptide Synthesis without Protection of C-Terminals
Authors: Noguchi Takuya , Tehara Naoka , Uesugi Yuki , Jung Seunghee , Imai Nobuyuki
Published: December 2011

Condensation of carboxylic acids 1 and 5 with unprotected α-amino acids 2 via activation by ethyl chloroformate and triethylamine proceeded effectively to afford the corresponding amides in 50–99% yields. Tripeptide 7c was obtained in 42% yield from the dipeptide 6c in a similar manner.
End-tether Structure of DNA Alters Electron-transfer Pathway of Redox-labeled Oligo-DNA Duplex at Electrode Surface
Authors: Mie Yasuhiro , Kojima Naoshi , Kowata Keiko , Komatsu Yasuo
Published: December 2011

We prepared Nile Blue (NB)-modified 17-mer DNA duplexes with thiol/disulfide end tethers for immobilization onto gold electrodes to understand the effect of the tether structure of DNA on its electron-transfer (ET) reactions. The longer thiol tether allowed electron transfer between the NB and the electrode through the DNA duplex, whereas the direct ET pathway became predominant in the shorter disulfide tether. Importantly, the insertion of a spacer chain into the disulfide tether changed the direct ET pathway to a through-DNA pathway.
Two-step Changes in Luminescence Color of Pt(II) Complex Bearing an Amide Moiety by Mechano- and Vapochromism
Authors: Choi Seong Jib , Kuwabara Junpei , Nishimura Yoshinobu , Arai Tatsuo , Kanbara Takaki
Published: December 2011

A pincer Pt(II) complex with amide groups was investigated with respect to the change in their luminescence color in solid state. The Pt(II) complex exhibited mechanochromic behavior, changing from green to orange upon grinding. In addition, the orange luminescence changed to yellow via vapochromism.
A Revisit to Molecular Orbitals in H2+, LiH, HF, and Hybridization
Authors: Nagaoka Shin-ichi , Teramae Hiroyuki , Nagashima Umpei
Published: December 2011

We have drawn three-dimensional contour plots of H2+ molecular orbitals and carbon hybrid orbitals according to explanations given in quantum chemistry textbooks and have also performed ab initio molecular orbital calculations of LiH and HF. Some contour representations and molecular orbital energy-level diagrams thus obtained are not consistent with the figures adopted in the textbooks. It is considered that the usual explanations for the molecular orbitals of H2+, LiH, HF, and hybridization in the conventional textbooks are liable to misunderstanding.
College launches new accreditation portal
Authors: Lamont Peter , Yerokhina Anna
Published: December 2011

'[Accreditation is] the process by which a (non-)governmental or private body evaluates the quality of a higher education institution as a whole or of a specific educational programme in order to formally recognise it as having met certain pre-determined minimal criteria or standards.
New techniques and new technologies: ethics and patient safety
Authors: Ahamat Nona
Published: December 2011

With the continual drive for the development and spread of innovation in the health service, the regulation and scrutiny of new techniques and technologies is crucial.
A review of 2011
Authors: Kingston Gareth , Worker Charlotte
Published: December 2011

2011 was a productive year for the Faculty, seeing positive developments in all activity areas, including:
Civilising community? A critical exploration of local civil society in North West Wales
Authors: Mann Robin , Plows Alex , Patterson Corinna
Published: December 2011

In this paper we examine the contested character of local civil society in rural North West Wales. Recent years have seen an increasing research and policy interest in the nature of civil society activity at the local level. In contributing to this, we argue that greater attention be paid to how relationships between civil society actors and organisations are shaped by local context. Drawing on the accounts of key individuals in a rural locality, we identify how the actors who have skills and experiences in running organisations relate to people in a disadvantaged, former slate-quarrying village in which such capacities are perceived to be lacking. Such relations between key actors, and between key actors and local people, are overlaid by divisions of class, language and incomer status, producing a contested field. We argue that these tensions have significant implications for statutory area-based regeneration projects aimed at community empowerment, which, in the worst instances, work to reaffirm rather than overcome such divisions.
Who gives? A literature review of predictors of charitable giving Part One: Religion, education, age and socialisation
Authors: Bekkers René , Wiepking Pamala
Published: December 2011

This is the first of two papers in which we present a comprehensive review of the multidisciplinary academic literature on philanthropy, identifying the predictors of charitable giving by individuals and households. For each predictor, we discuss the evidence for the mechanisms that may explain why the predictor is correlated with giving. We conclude with a brief agenda for future research. In this first paper we present the evidence on the relationship of giving with religion, education, age and socialisation.
‘Can't we just tell them we don't want it?’ NIMBYism and the democratic deficit
Authors: Hayes Liz Millward
Published: December 2011

Successive governments have encouraged local participation and active citizenship as methods of addressing the ‘democratic deficit’. This paper reports on a campaign against ‘fracking’ (the use of hydraulic fracturing in shale gas extraction) in South Wales. It asks: has the campaign addressed the democratic deficit, built community capacity and improved the quality of governmental decision making? The paper provides a partial answer to this question by exploring the experiences and perspectives of the participants and how their views changed in the light of their involvement in the campaign.
Bridging the Research-to-Practice Gap: A Review of the Literature Focusing on Inclusive Education
Authors: Grima-Farrell Christine R. , Bain Alan , McDonagh Sarah H.
Published: December 2011

Despite advances in our knowledge of evidence-based inclusive educational practice, much of this knowledge does not reach routine classroom practice. There remains a significant gap between our accumulated knowledge about what can work in classrooms and the extent to which evidence-based practice is used in sustainable ways. This inability to bridge the research-to-practice gap has an adverse effect on the progress of inclusion in schools and the ability of individual teachers to respond to the needs of all students. This review examines those factors that both enable and interfere with the successful translation of research to practice in education settings.
Your Voice Counts: Listening to the Voice of High School Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Saggers Beth , Hwang Yoon-Suk , Mercer K. Louise
Published: December 2011

Supporting students with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in inclusive settings presents both opportunities and significant challenges to school communities. This study, which explored the lived experience of nine students with ASD in an inclusive high school in Australia, is based on the belief that by listening to the voices of students, school communities will be in a better position to collaboratively create supportive learning and social environments. The findings of this small-scale study deepen our knowledge from the student perspective of the inclusive educational practices that facilitate and constrain the learning and participation of students with ASD. The students' perspectives were examined in relation to the characteristics of successful inclusive schools identified by Kluth (2003). Implications for inclusive educational practice that meets the needs of students with ASD are presented.