bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Surface roughening of a non‐tapered open tubular emitter for improved electrospray ionization mass spectrometry performance at low flow rates
Authors: Su Shuqin , Marecak Dale , Oleschuk Richard D.
Published: June 2008

A non‐tapered open tubular emitter with 75 µm internal diameter (i.d.) and 360 µm external diameter (o.d.) was developed by simply grinding the exit aperture of a fused‐silica capillary. The roughened emitter, with a relatively large aperture, generates stable electrospray signals (generally <5% relative standard deviation (RSD) for most conditions studied) at less than 500 nL/min flow rates, and was characterized with atomic force microscopy. The surface treatment greatly extends the operational range of an open tubular emitter to lower flow rates, compared to that of a cleaved capillary with similar dimensions. The stabilized nanoelectrospray is attributed to the increased surface roughness and modified wetting characteristics of the emitter exit resulting from grinding. Electrospray performance was evaluated, and as a result of the enhanced sensitivity from a roughened emitter, five femtomoles of leucine enkephalin were detected at a 50 nL/min flow rate with a signal to noise (S/N) ratio of 48. Furthermore, trypsin‐digested bovine serum albumin (BSA) was used to demonstrate the application of the emitter in protein identification, giving a sequence coverage of 60%. These emitters are robust, and may become a facile alternative to tapered emitters at moderate nano flow rates (e.g. 50 to 500 nL/min). Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Correlation between nuchal translucency and nuchal skin‐fold measurements in Down syndrome and unaffected fetuses
Authors: Maymon R. , Zimerman A. L. , Weinraub Z. , Herman A. , Cuckle H.
Published: June 2008

Objective

To assess whether there is a correlation between nuchal translucency (NT) and nuchal skin‐fold (NF) measurements, in Down syndrome and in normal pregnancies.

Methods

Nineteen Down syndrome and 224 normal fetuses underwent ultrasound sequential examinations at 11–13 weeks and 14–28 weeks' gestation. NT was measured at the earlier examination and NF at the later one. Both markers were expressed in multiples of the normal gestation‐specific median (MoM). The affected cases had been referred to us for termination of pregnancy; NT had been measured locally and NF was measured at our center prior to the procedure. All unaffected pregnancies were scanned routinely at our center.

Results

There was no statistically significant correlation between NT and NF, in either the Down syndrome (r = 0.076, P = 0.76) or the unaffected (r = − 0.021, P = 0.76) pregnancies. The median NF value in Down syndrome fetuses was 1.538 MoM, compared with 0.990 in unaffected fetuses (P < 0.0001). Gaussian modeling with parameters from a published meta‐analysis, updated to include the current series, predicted a 91% detection rate of Down syndrome for a 5% false‐positive rate when NF replaced second‐trimester biochemistry in a sequential contingent screening strategy.

Conclusion

While this study cannot exclude a small correlation between NT and NF, and the Down syndrome karyotype was known at the time of the NF scan, the markers can be considered as independent determinants of Down syndrome risk. Modeling suggests that sequential contingent screening incorporating NF is an effective screening strategy, although this needs to be confirmed in a prospective study. Copyright © 2008 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Frontomaxillary facial angle in screening for trisomy 21 at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6 weeks
Authors: Borenstein M. , Persico N. , Kagan K. O. , Gazzoni A. , Nicolaides K. H.
Published: June 2008

Objective

Trisomy 21 is associated with a flat face, which can now be quantified by measurement of the frontomaxillary facial (FMF) angle. The aim of this study was to examine whether in trisomy 21 fetuses fetal nuchal translucency (NT) thickness and maternal serum free ß‐human chorionic gonadotropin (ß‐hCG) and pregnancy‐associated plasma protein‐A (PAPP‐A) are independent of the FMF angle, and to estimate the performance of a first‐trimester screening test for trisomy 21 that includes measurement of the FMF angle.

Methods

This was a prospective study in singleton pregnancies at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6 weeks of gestation in which three‐dimensional volumes of the fetal head were obtained and measurement of the FMF angle performed immediately before fetal karyotyping by chorionic villus sampling (CVS). The women chose to have CVS after risk assessment by a combination of maternal age, fetal NT thickness and maternal serum free ß‐hCG and PAPP‐A. Regression analysis was used to examine the significance of the association within the euploid and within the trisomy 21 fetuses between the deviation from the normal median in FMF angle and the deviation in NT, free ß‐hCG and PAPP‐A. We estimated the detection rate (DR) and false positive rate (FPR) of first‐trimester screening for trisomy 21 by measuring the FMF angle in all cases and of an alternative policy in which first‐stage screening is by fetal NT and maternal serum biochemistry in all patients, followed by second‐stage assessment of FMF angle only in those with an intermediate risk (1 in 51 to 1 in 1000) after the first stage.

Results

The FMF angle was measured in 782 euploid and 108 trisomy 21 fetuses. In the euploid fetuses the mean FMF angle decreased linearly with CRL from 83.5° at a crown–rump length (CRL) of 45 mm to 76.4° at a CRL of 84 mm. In the euploid fetuses the mean delta FMF angle was 0.0 (SD, 4.264)° and the respective values in the trisomy 21 fetuses were 7.172 (SD, 4.092)°. Incorporating the FMF angle in first‐trimester combined screening increased the estimated DR from 90 to 94% at an FPR of 5% and from 85 to 92% at an FPR of 3%. In two‐stage screening it would be necessary to measure the FMF angle in 12% of cases and the DRs would be 93 and 91% at FPRs of 5 and 3%, respectively.

Conclusions

Measurement of the FMF angle improves the performance of first‐trimester screening for trisomy 21. Copyright © 2008 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Prenatal diagnosis of thrombosis of the dural sinuses: report of six cases, review of the literature and suggested management
Authors: Laurichesse Delmas H. , Winer N. , Gallot D. , Lopes K. , Perrotin F. , Fluncker S. , Geissler F. , Beaufrere A. M. , Vendittelli F. , Couture C. , Lemery D.
Published: June 2008

Objectives

To describe and assess the sonographic findings, evolution and clinical implications of thrombosis of the fetal dural sinuses.

Methods

We compiled a multicenter report of the outcomes of five cases with a prenatal diagnosis of thrombosis of the dural sinuses, and one case in which thrombosis of the dural sinus was diagnosed at necroscopy after termination of pregnancy. Prognostic factors are discussed, and suggestions made for prenatal and postnatal management.

Results

The mean (range) gestational age at diagnosis of thrombosis of the dural sinuses in the five cases in which it was made prenatally was 25.2 (22–31) weeks. In these five cases, diagnosis was made by sonography and confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which showed a blood clot in the region of the torcular herophili. Three of the six cases delivered vaginally with favorable sonographic findings, and normal clinical neurological development. Two pregnancies were terminated at the request of the parents. In one of these cases the prognosis was poor, with signs of fetal decompensation or cardiac failure; the pregnancy was terminated and necropsy revealed thrombosis of the occipital dural sinuses associated with a hemangioma. One infant, in whom the thrombosis developed in conjunction with a dural sinus malformation, died at 4 months of age.

Conclusions

Thrombosis of the cerebral venous circulation can occur antenatally and is detectable by fetal real‐time and color Doppler ultrasound examination. A review of the literature supports targeted evaluation of the fetus by serial ultrasound imaging and MRI to help guide the diagnosis, and to improve the counseling and management of such cases. Partial or total regression, isolated abnormality, absence of fetal decompensation or signs of cardiac failure and favorable clinical evolution are suggestive of favorable prognosis. In such cases, non‐interventional neonatal management is recommended. Copyright © 2008 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Spectrophotometric studies of cheuri (Madhuca butyracea) fat and ghee mixtures: I
Authors: Jha J. S.
Published: June 2008

Visible spectra of cheuri (Madhuca butyracea) fat, ghee (clarified butter fat) and 10 of their mixtures are reported. Pure ghee showed no absorption band in the visible range whereas the cheuri fat samples showed an absorption band with maxima between 640 and 680 nm. Even 5% cheuri fat content in ghee had a small absorption in this range. An index R (maximal absorbance of band between 640 and 680 nm‐A700) was found suitable for estimating the amount of cheuri fat in ghee samples.
Calcium‐phytate complex formation studies
Authors: Evans W. J. , Pierce A. G.
Published: June 2008

A calcium‐phytate complex has been prepared. The chemical composition indicates that five calciums combine per phytate molecule. The solubility product of this calcium‐phytate is about 10−22 in 0.2 M KCl.
Recent advances in the analysis of glucosinolates
Authors: Olsen O. , Sørensen H.
Published: June 2008

Occurrence and biochemistry of glucosinolates are briefly discussed. The chemistry of intact glucosinolates and their degradation products is considered in relation to the methods used for their determination. Different methods have been used, including ion‐ exchange chromatography, paper chromatography, high‐ voltage electrophoresis,1H‐ and13C‐ NMR spectroscopy. The quantitative analysis of trimethylsilylated desulfoglucosinolates by gas chromatography and of intact glucosinolates by high performance liquid chromatography is discussed in relation to previously used methods based on the determination of glucosinolate degradation products.
GOCE gradiometer: estimation of biases and scale factors of all six individual accelerometers by precise orbit determination
Authors: Visser P. N. A. M.
Published: June 2008

A method has been implemented and tested for estimating bias and scale factor parameters for all six individual accelerometers that will fly on-board of GOCE and together form the so-called gradiometer. The method is based on inclusion of the individual accelerometer observations in precise orbit determinations, opposed to the baseline method where so-called common-mode accelerometer observations are used. The method was tested using simulated data from a detailed GOCE system simulator. It was found that the observations taken by individual accelerometers need to be corrected for (1) local satellite gravity gradient (SGG), and (2) rotational terms caused by centrifugal and angular accelerations, due to the fact that they are not located in the satellite’s center of mass. For these corrections, use is made of a reference gravity field model. In addition, the rotational terms are derived from on-board star tracker observations. With a perfect a priori gravity field model and with the estimation of not only accelerometer biases but also accelerometer drifts, scale factors can be determined with an accuracy and stability better than 0.01 for two of the three axes of each accelerometer, the exception being the axis pointing along the long axis of the satellite (more or less coinciding with the flight direction) for which the scale factor estimates are unreliable. This axis coincides with the axis of drag-free control, which results in a small variance of the signal to be calibrated and thus an inaccurate determination of its scale factor in the presence of relatively large (colored) accelerometer observation errors. In the presence of gravity field model errors, it was found that still an accuracy and stability of about 0.015 can be obtained for the accelerometer scale factors by simultaneously estimating empirical accelerations.
How to Optimize Autonomic Nerve Preservation in Total Mesorectal Excision: Clinical Topography and Morphology of Pelvic Nerves and Fasciae
Authors: Clausen Nicolas , Wolloscheck Tanja , Konerding Moritz A.
Published: June 2008

Background

Urogenital dysfunction after rectal and pelvic surgery was significantly decreased with the introduction of nerve‐preserving dissection and total mesorectal excision (TME). Profound topographic knowledge of the pelvic connective tissue spaces is indispensable for identification and preservation of autonomic pelvic nerves. The purpose of this cadaver study was to highlight the course of important autonomous nerve structures and to identify potential injury sites.

Methods

Eleven cadavers were dissected according to TME with subsequent preparation of the pelvic nerves. The pelves of further three cadavers were sliced horizontally and cubed. Specimens were harvested and processed for light microscopy and immunohistochemistry to analyze both fascia and the types of nerves and their localization.

Results

The neurovascular bundle, arising from the inferior pelvic plexus, shows the highest nerve density. At the lateral edge of Denonvilliers’ fascia, it pierces the parietal pelvic fascia. Several fine nerve branches spread into the loose periprostatic tissue up to the prostate or pass the prostate toward the urinary bladder. En route, we consistently find perikarya of autonomic nerves. Within the mesorectum, nerve fibers are distributed heterogeneously with laterally high densities, ventrally and dorsally low densities.

Conclusion

The highest risk for pelvic nerve damage—apart from lesions of the superior hypogastric plexus itself—is anterolaterally of the rectum where the neurovascular bundle releases from the pelvic sidewall. Careful dissection helps to identify and protect these nerve structures. The retroprostatic Denonvilliers’ fascia contains no important nerve structures.
Resection of Colorectal Liver Metastases: Is a Resection Margin of 3 mm Enough?
Authors: Konopke Ralf , Kersting Stephan , Makowiec Frank , Gaßmann Peter , Kuhlisch Eberhard , Senninger Norbert , Hopt Ulrich , Saeger Hans Detlev
Published: June 2008

Background

A safety margin of ≥10 mm is generally accepted in surgery for colorectal metastases. It is reasonable that modern methods of liver parenchyma dissection may allow for a reduction in this distance.

Methods

A total of 333 patients were included in a multicenter trial after resection of colorectal liver metastases. Dissection of the liver had been performed with a CUSA®, UltraCision®, or water‐jet dissector. The size of the resection margin was correlated with recurrence risk and survival.

Results

The median hepatic recurrence‐free survival reached 35 months for all patients; median recurrence‐free survival was 24 months and overall survival was 41 months. Univariate analysis of different groups denoting the extent of resection margin (≥10 mm, 6–9 mm, 3–5 mm, 1–2 mm, 0 mm (R1)) indicated that a margin of 1–2 mm leads to a significantly reduced median hepatic recurrence‐free survival of 20 months (p = 0.004) and recurrence‐free survival of 19 months (p = 0.011). Patients with R1 resection had the worst prognosis. Overall survival was not influenced by the size of the resection margin. Surgical margins were significantly reduced in simultaneous resections of four or more liver metastases and in cases in which metastatic infiltration of central liver segments was present. At multivariate analysis, resection margins of 1–2 mm and 0 mm were independent predictors of hepatic recurrence and overall recurrence.

Conclusion

The indication for resection of metastases can be safely extended to cases in which tumors sit closer than 1 cm to nonresectable structures.
Selection of modalities, prescription, and technical issues in children on peritoneal dialysis
Authors: Verrina Enrico , Cappelli Valeria , Perfumo Francesco
Published: June 2008

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is widely employed as a dialytic therapy for uraemic children, especially in its automated form (APD), that is associated with less burden of care on patient and family than continuous ambulatory PD. Since APD offers a wide range of treatment options, based on intermittent and continuous regimens, prescription can be individualized according to patient’s age, body size, residual renal function, nutritional intake, and growth-related metabolic needs. Transport capacity of the peritoneal membrane of each individual patient should be assessed, and regularly monitored, by means of standardized peritoneal function tests validated in pediatric patients. To ensure maximum recruitment of peritoneal exchange area, fill volume should be scaled to body surface area and adapted to each patient, according to clinical tolerance and intraperitoneal pressure. PD solutions should be employed according to their biocompatibility and potential ultrafiltration capacity; new pH-neutral, glucose-free solutions can be used in an integrated way in separate dwells, or by appropriately mixing during the same dialytic session. Kinetic modelling software programs may help in the tailoring of PD prescription to individual patients’ characteristics and needs. Owing to advances in the technology of new APD machines, greater programming flexibility, memorized delivery control, and tele-dialysis are currently possible.
Performance of Φ‐Sulfo Fatty Methyl Ester Sulfonate Versus Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate, Secondary Alkane Sulfonate and α‐Sulfo Fatty Methyl Ester Sulfonate
Authors: Cohen Leon , Soto Fernando , Melgarejo Ana , Roberts David W.
Published: June 2008

Sulfoxidation of fatty acid methyl esters with SO2,O2and ultraviolet light of appropriate wavelength, has led to the synthesis of methyl esters sulfonates or sulfoxylates, known as Φ‐MES, because of the possible random position of SO3group in the alkyl chain. Aqueous solutions based on the sulfoxylated methyl ester of palmitic acid (Φ‐MES C16) have been studied and compared to the leading types of surfactants used today: linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) secondary alkane sulfonate (SAS) and α‐sulfo fatty methyl ester sulfonate (α‐MES) with regard to solubility, performance and skin compatibility. The experimental results obtained indicate that Φ‐MES C16 can be regarded as a potential component of detergent formulations and most likely also of body care products.
Enhancement of the Antitumour Activity for the Synthesised Dodecylcysteine Surfactant using Gold Nanoparticles
Authors: Azzam E. M. S. , Morsy S. M. I.
Published: June 2008

In this paper, the surfactant dodecylcysteine hydrochloride was synthesised. The surface parameters of the synthesised surfactant were studied using a surface tension technique. The surface parameters show a good surface activity of the prepared surfactant in aqueous solution. The self‐assembling behaviour of the synthesised surfactant comparing with that of cysteine compound on the prepared gold nanoparticles was confirmed using transmission electron microscope (TEM) measurements. The effect of self‐assembling of this surfactant on the size of gold nanoparticles was studied using TEM images. The antitumour activity of the prepared surfactant without and with the gold nanoparticles was investigated. The results show that the antitumour activity of the prepared surfactant was enhanced with the presences of the gold nanoparticles.
Oil Content and Fatty Acid Composition in Seeds of Three Safflower Species
Authors: Sabzalian Mohammad R. , Saeidi Ghodratollah , Mirlohi Aghafakhr
Published: June 2008

Seeds of six safflower (C. tinctorius L.) genotypes and 19 accessions of two wild species were analyzed for oil and fatty acid composition. Oil content ranged from 29.20 to 34.00, 20.04 to 30.80 and 15.30 to 20.80% in C. tinctorius, C. oxyacantha Bieb. and C. lanatus L., respectively. The main fatty acids of oleic, linoleic, palmitic and stearic acids composed 96–99% of the total fatty acids in all species. The sum of myristic, palmitoleic, arachidic, and behenic fatty acids in oil of the species ranged from 0.43 to 0.57%. The oleic acid in seed oil of C. tinctorius, C. oxyacantha and C. lanatus ranged from 12.24 to 15.43, 14.11 to 19.28 and 16.70 to 19.77%, respectively. The corresponding ranges for linoleic acid were 71.05 to 76.12, 63.90 to 75.43 and 62.47 to 71.08%. Palmitic acid in seed oil varied from 5.48 to 7.59% in C. tinctorius, 6.09 to 8.33% in C. oxyacantha and 7.44 to 8.78% in C. lanatus. The stearic acid of the seed oil showed a variation of 1.72 to 2.86, 2.50 to 4.87 and 3.14 to 4.79% in genotypes of these species, respectively. The fatty acids composition of oil among the cultivated and wild species were not considerably different, indicating that seed oil of the wild safflower is possibly suitable for human consumption and industrial purposes.
Oxidative Stability of Conventional and High‐Oleic Vegetable Oils with Added Antioxidants
Authors: Merrill Lilon I. , Pike Oscar A. , Ogden Lynn V. , Dunn Michael L.
Published: June 2008

The oxidative stability of conventional and high‐oleic varieties of commercial vegetable oils, with and without added antioxidants, was evaluated using the oil stability index (OSI). Oil varieties studied were soybean (SOY), partially‐hydrogenated soybean (PHSOY), corn (CORN), sunflower (SUN), canola (CAN), high‐oleic canola (HOCAN), very high‐oleic canola (VHOCAN), oleic safflower (SAF) and high‐oleic sunflower (HOSUN). One or more commercial antioxidants were added to the four most stable oils at supplier‐recommended levels: rosemary extract (RM; 1,000 ppm), ascorbyl palmitate (AP; 1,000 ppm), tert‐butylhydroquinone (TBHQ; 200 ppm), and mixed tocopherols (TOC; 200 ppm). OSI in hours (h) at 110 °C of the conventional oils were 5.2, 7.6, 8.4, 9.8, 10.9 and 14.3 h for SUN, SOY, CAN, CORN, PHSOY and SAF, respectively. OSI of high‐oleic variants were 12.9, 16.5 and 18.5 h for HOCAN, HOSUN and VHOCAN, respectively. Maximum OSI values for the four most stable oils when treated with antioxidants, were 40.9, 48.5, 48.8 and 55.7 h for HOCAN, VHOCAN, SAF and HOSUN, respectively. Addition of TBHQ, alone and in combination with other antioxidants, resulted in the greatest increase in oxidative stability of SAF and other high‐oleic oils evaluated. AP had a positive synergistic effect when used with TBHQ, while RM decreased TBHQ effectiveness.
Improved bioluminescent assay of somatic cell counts in raw milk
Authors: Frundzhyan Valery G , Parkhomenko Inna M , Brovko Lubov Y , Ugarova Natalia N
Published: June 2008

Somatic cell count (SCC) in milk is considered to be a valuable indicator of cow mastitis. For assessment of SCC in milk, the bioluminescent assay based on determination of ATP from somatic cells ([ATPsom]) in milk was proposed earlier. However, this assay is still not widely used in practice owing to lower reliability compared with conventional methods such as direct microscopy and flow cytometry. We revised the bioluminescent SCC assay and developed a simple protocol based on determination of the total non-bacterial ATP concentration in milk. It was shown that the novel ATP-releasing agent Neonol-10 (oxy-ethylated iso-nonyl phenol) has superior performance providing 100% lysis of somatic cells while not disrupting bacterial cells of milk at a concentration of 1·5% w/w. There was high correlation (R2=0·99) between measured bioluminescence and SCC as measured by direct microscopy. The observed detection limit of the bioluminescent milk SCC assay was as low as 900 cell/ml, time of analysis was 2–3 min per sample. The proposed method has high potential for on-site mastitis diagnostics.
‘I am notthatold’: inter-personal experiences of thriving and threats at a senior centre
Authors: LUND ANNE , ENGELSRUD GUNN
Published: June 2008

The high cultural valuation of youthfulness and fitness in the mass media and more generally in western consumer society is the contextual frame for this study. It examines older people's attitudes towards their own ageing and towards people who are older or frailer than themselves. Participant observation was conducted of the attitudes, actions and interactions of the users of a senior centre in Norway. The users held two sets of attitudes that led to quite different activities and actions at the centre. On the one hand, they saw the centre as helping them ‘thrive’, which was associated with involvement in the community and participation in the structured daily activities to promote the senses of belonging and being useful. On the other hand, some perceived the centre and particularly the other users as ‘threats’ – as reminding them that they were getting old and increasingly vulnerable to sickness and disability. To some, the centre was for old people with disabilities, and they used subtle strategies to distance themselves from this group. Some users' attitudes and behaviour were in tension: they wished to participate in the valued activities but also to distance themselves from frailer users, while not denying their own ageing. The distancing strategies and behaviour amounted to age discrimination in interpersonal relations and interactions at the centre. This behaviour accepts rather than challenges the cultural valuation of youthfulness and the negative representation of old age.
Inter-generational relationships at different ages: an attachment perspective
Authors: MERZ EVA-MARIA , SCHUENGEL CARLO , SCHULZE HANS-JOACHIM
Published: June 2008

This study examines the characteristics of parent-child relationships after childhood from a theoretical attachment perspective. It describes how relationships between adult children and their parents vary by age group of the child on three dimensions that were derived from attachment theory: direction, penetration and quality. Data from 4,589 respondents to the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study were analysed to describe relationships between adult-children and their parents. Analyses of covariance were used to specify differences by age group. The results showed that age had notable effects on relationships between adult children and parents, especially their direction and penetration or centrality. The direction was reversed for parents of children in the two oldest age groups. The level of penetration was lower for the older age groups, and quality was higher in the younger age groups, but the effect size was small. The age effects on the dimensions were qualified by the personal circumstances of the adult children. Having one's own children was associated with different patterns of attachment at different ages. Adult children may be an important source of support for their elderly parents and may even become ‘attachment figures’. Given the current increases in longevity, there could be increasing pressure on adult children to support their parents. Attachment theory is a useful framework for studying the characteristics of inter-generational relationships, also after childhood.
ORGANIZED LABOR AND AMERICAN LAW: FROM FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION TO COMPULSORY UNIONISM
Authors: Moreno Paul
Published: June 2008

Though most legal and labor historians have depicted an American labor movement that suffered from legal disabilities, American law has never denied organized labor's freedom of association. Quite the contrary, unions have always enjoyed at least some favoritism in the law, and this status provided the essential element to their success and power. But, even during the heyday of union power (1930–47), organized labor never succeeded in gaining all of the privileges that it sought, not enough to stem its current (private-sector) decline back to historically normal levels. This article provides a synoptic overview and reinterpretation of the development of American labor law.
INDUSTRIAL SABOTEURS, REPUTED THIEVES, COMMUNISTS, AND THE FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
Authors: Whittington Keith E.
Published: June 2008

The idea of a constitutional freedom of association was embraced by the U.S. Supreme Court in the mid-twentieth century as implicit in the First Amendment. Although initially endorsed by the Court as a fundamental freedom that was necessarily entwined with the freedom of speech when confronted with cases in the 1930s and 1940s of local government officials cracking down on speakers and assemblies discussing strikes and labor unions, the justices were far more divided and skeptical of freedom of association claims in cases from the mid-1940s through the early 1960s when state and national government officials were pursuing a variety of anticommunist measures. This article examines the early jurisprudential development of the constitutional freedom of association and its grounding in the First Amendment, and suggests some of the limits that the notion always carried with it. Politics and jurisprudence combined to limit its applicability in the anticommunism cases.
EXPRESSIVE ASSOCIATION AND THE IDEAL OF THE UNIVERSITY IN THE SOLOMON AMENDMENT LITIGATION
Authors: Wolff Tobias Barrington , Koppelman Andrew
Published: June 2008

In this article, Professors Wolff and Koppelman offer a critical analysis of the free speech claims that were asserted by the law schools and law faculty that sought to challenge the Solomon Amendment. Solomon is a federal statute that requires law schools to grant full and equal access to military recruiters during the student interview season. The military discriminates against gay men and lesbians under its “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, and the law professors claimed a right to exclude the military under the First Amendment doctrine of “expressive association,” arguing that the presence of discriminatory recruiters would interfere with the ability of faculty to express their own message of inclusion toward their gay students. Those claims were ultimately rejected by the Supreme Court inRumsfeld v. FAIR. Wolff and Koppelman argue that the law professors' litigation efforts, though well intentioned, were deeply misguided, seeking to extend a recent and aberrational decision in the law of expressive association to unsustainable lengths and, in the process, offering a characterization of the manner in which faculty engage in their own expression that is inconsistent with the ideals that should govern institutions of higher learning.
SHOULD ANTIDISCRIMINATION LAWS LIMIT FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION? THE DANGEROUS ALLURE OF HUMAN RIGHTS LEGISLATION
Authors: Epstein Richard A.
Published: June 2008

This article defends the classical liberal view of human interactions that gives strong protection to associational freedom except in cases that involve the use of force or fraud or the exercise of monopoly power. That conception is at war with the modern antidiscrimination or human rights laws that operate in competitive markets in such vital areas as employment and housing, with respect to matters of race, sex, age, and increasingly, disability. The article further argues that using the “human rights” label to boost the moral case for antidiscrimination laws gets matters exactly backwards, given that any program of forced association on one side of a status relationship (employer, not employee; landlord, not tenant) is inconsistent with any universal norm governing all individuals regardless of role in all associative arrangements. The articled also discusses the tensions that arise under current Supreme Court law, which protects associational freedom arising out of expressive activities (as in cases involving the NAACP or the Boy Scouts), but refuses to extend that protection to other forms of association, such as those involving persons with disabilities. The great vice of all these arrangements is that they cannot guarantee the stability of mandated win/lose relationships. The article further argues that a strong social consensus against discrimination is insufficient reason to coerce dissenters, given that holders of the dominant position can run their operations as they see fit even if others do otherwise. It closes with a short model human rights statute drafted in the classical liberal tradition that avoids the awkward line drawing and balancing that give rise to modern bureaucracies to enforce modern antidiscrimination laws.
THE PARADOX OF ASSOCIATION
Authors: Lomasky Loren E.
Published: June 2008

Individuals care deeply about with whom they associate and on what terms. A liberty to avoid entanglement in the disfavored designs of others is counterposed by an entitlement not to be excluded from valued modes of activity. These interests generate not one but two freedoms of association, the former negative and the latter positive. Often they conflict. This essay begins by setting out several respects in which negative free association is crucial to a liberal order and then examines several pleas for positive association, at least one of which is judged to be compelling. Because the two freedoms of association are in conspicuous tension, the essay concludes with strategies for reconciling their competing claims.
THE MADISONIAN PARADOX OF FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
Authors: Boyd Richard
Published: June 2008

Freedom of association holds an uneasy place in the pantheon of liberal freedoms. Whereas freedom of association and the abundant plurality of groups that accompany it have been embraced by modern and contemporary liberals, this was not always the case. Unlike more canonical freedoms of speech, press, property, petition, assembly, and religious conscience, the freedom of association was rarely extolled by classical liberal thinkers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Indeed Thomas Hobbes, David Hume, Adam Smith, and others seem to have regarded freedom of association with some trepidation because of the violent, irrational, and factional behavior of groups. This chapter illuminates these anti-associational assumptions in the writings of James Madison. Although Madison famously deplored political associations as sources of faction and civil dissension, he differed from other members of the Founding generation in his willingness to defend associational freedom. Madison's writings also shed light on the unenumerated status of the freedom of association in American constitutional law.
English in Asia, Asian Englishes, and the issue of proficiency
Authors: Bolton Kingsley
Published: June 2008

The contemporary visibility and importance of English throughout the Asian region coupled with the emergence and development of distinct varieties of Asian Englishes have played an important part in the global story of English in recent years. Across Asia, the numbers of people having at least a functional command of the language have grown exponentially over the last four decades, and current changes in the sociolinguistic realities of the region are often so rapid that it is difficult for academic commentators to keep pace. One basic issue in the telling of this story is the question of what it is we mean by the term ‘Asia’, itself a word of contested etymology, whose geographical reference has ranged in application from the Middle East to Central Asia, and from the Indian sub-continent to Japan and Korea. In this article, my discussion will focus on the countries of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia, as it is in these regions that we find not only the greatest concentration of ‘outer-circle’ English-using societies but also a number of the most populous English-learning and English-knowing nations in the world.
‘Death of the mother tongue’ – is English a glottophagic language in South Africa?
Authors: Mesthrie Rajend
Published: June 2008

This article reflects on the spread of English in South Africa, especially in the wake of the large-scale changes following the collapse of apartheid in the early 1990s. These changes allowed freer mixing of young South Africans of all backgrounds than had been hitherto possible in a segregated society. In particular, schools formerly reserved for Whites, opened their doors to initially small, then increasing numbers of pupils from other race groups: viz. Black, Coloured and Indian (this group is sometimes described as black in the general sense, in lower case, or non-whites in former apartheid-speak). The term Coloured in South Africa denotes communities of multiple ancestry, whose background encompasses the now obsolescent indigenous Khoe-San languages of the country as well as Bantu, European and Asian languages.
English as a lingua franca: between form and function
Authors: Saraceni Mario
Published: June 2008

In this paper I wish to discuss some aspects of the current debates about the concept of English as a lingua franca. In doing so, I will use a recount of the pre-publication stages of the volume English in the World: Global Rules, Global Roles, co-edited by Rani Rubdy and myself (2006) as a starting point, to set the scene, and will move to more theoretical considerations in the second part of the paper.
English as the official working language of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): Features and strategies
Authors: Kirkpatrick Andy
Published: June 2008

English as a lingua franca: a specific example.
Spelling, accent and identity in computer-mediated communication
Authors: Shaw Philip
Published: June 2008

An analysis of home page spellings in relation to the accents they evoke. One of the most obvious developments connected with modern electronic communication is the opening up of an area of publicly visible language from what Sebba (2003a) calls the partially regulated zone of spelling. This zone appears in such synchronous media as instant messaging, chatrooms and ICQ (‘I seek you’) and asynchronous ones including SMS text messages, blogs, email and homepages.
English is getting weirder, and so R wee
Authors: Ch'ien Evelyn Nien-Ming
Published: June 2008

An exploration of how technology is making English – and the human race – evolve. In The Dead Emcee Scrolls, poet and rap artist Saul Williams describes how his writing was transformed by a dance club experience in which the club's beats reset his biorhythms. He writes, Hail Mary. Mother of God. / Got the whole host of angels in my iPod (Williams, 2006:16). Then, later, Neck back jump kiss BREAK. / Uprock freeze pop lock BREAK. / Don't stop don't stop snap BREAK (30). These lines illustrate a growing use of urban hip-hop vernacular that has been distributed with alarming efficiency by the global music trend, through downloadable music and ipods. Music and its beats have created a rhythm to which this iGeneration dialogues, both internally and externally. Technology has given way to a continuum for emotional highs that can be sustained at any place and time. The technological revolution influences the way we socialize, collaborate and exchange acoustic information. Our changing and globalized subjectivities, as well as increasingly powerful acoustic technology, have exerted changes on the English language, making visible a significant revolution in the shaping of language within an increasingly mobile and technological world.
Exploring genre and register in contemporary English
Authors: Nunan David
Published: June 2008

In this article, I look at two concepts from functional linguistic that are often confused: genre and register. I look at what the concepts mean, how they differ, and how they can be used for the analysis of texts.
On the formality and strong Lefschetz property of symplectic manifolds
Authors: HWANG TAEK GYU , KIM JIN HONG
Published: June 2008

The main aim of this paper is to give some non-trivial results that exhibit the difference and similarity between Kähler and symplectic manifolds. To be precise, it is known that simply connected symplectic manifolds of dimension greater than 8, in general, do not satisfy the formality satisfied by all Kähler manifolds. In this paper we show that such non-formality of simply connected symplectic manifolds occurs even in dimension 8. We do this by some complicated but explicit construction of a simply connected non-formal symplectic manifold of dimension 8. In this construction we essentially use a variation of the construction of a simply connected symplectic manifold by Gompf. As a consequence, we can give infinitely many simply connected non-formal symplectic manifolds of any even dimension no less than 8.

Secondly, we show that every compact symplectic manifold admitting a semi-free Hamiltonian circle action with only isolated fixed points must satisfy the strong Lefschetz property satisfied by all Kähler manifolds. This result shows that the strong Lefschetz property for the symplectic manifold admitting Hamiltonian circle actions is closely related to their fixed point set, as expected.
The last deglaciation of Cape Adare, northern Victoria Land, Antarctica
Authors: Johnson Joanne S. , Hillenbrand Claus-Dieter , Smellie John L. , Rocchi Sergio
Published: June 2008

We present two 10Be exposure ages from erratic boulders at Cape Adare, northern Victoria Land. The exposure ages obtained suggest that Cape Adare was covered by ice during the last glacial period, and the younger age points to deglaciation around 16.2 ka. Comparison of our younger 10Be exposure age with published radiocarbon dates for Adélie penguin occupation at Cape Adare suggests that the onset of penguin colonization (at 2–3 kyr before present) lagged behind the deglaciation by at least 11.5 kyr. These observations indicate that penguin colonization did not occur until several thousand years after ice free ground became available.
Short Note: Late Miocene marine trace fossils from James Ross Island
Authors: Nelson Anna E. , Smellie John L. , Williams Mark , Zalasiewicz Jan
Published: June 2008

Williams et al. (2006) reported asterozoans preserved in Late Miocene volcanic tuffs of the James Ross Island Volcanic Group. The material, from the north-west of James Ross Island at 64°01.9′S 58°20.07′W, was sourced from the newly named Asterozoan Buttress locality, and represented reconnaissance collecting. The volcaniclastic sediments in which the fossils are found are fine- to medium-grained volcanic sandstones with planar, laterally continuous beds 0.5–8 cm thick containing decimetre-scale ripple cross-lamination. In the absence of part and counterpart rock slabs, Williams et al. (2006) hypothesised that the fossils represented the external moulds of starfish or brittlestars pinioned by rapid sedimentation of volcanic tuffs. They noted that these tuffs represented a potential untapped source of fossil material for interpreting Neogene marine shelf environments on the northern Antarctic Peninsula. New fossil material collected at Asterozoan Buttress in February 2007 (by Anna Nelson) includes part and counterpart rock slabs, and demonstrates that the asterozoans are resting traces of animals, referable to the ichnogenus Asteriacites, and not external moulds of entombed animals (Fig. 1a & d). We reinterpret the ‘detached’ arm and ‘current-entrainment’ specimens of Williams et al. (2006, fig. 5c & d) as representing a possible scull mark and movement of the asterozoan across the sediment surface respectively (see Bell 2004, text-fig. 11 for comparison).
Ostwald ripening of droplets: The role of migration
Authors: GLASNER KARL , OTTO FELIX , RUMP TOBIAS , SLEPČEV DEJAN
Published: June 2008

A configuration of near-equilibrium liquid droplets sitting on a precursor film which wets the entire substrate can coarsen in time by two different mechanisms: collapse or collision of droplets. The collapse mechanism, i.e., a larger droplet grows at the expense of a smaller one by mass exchange through the precursor film, is also known as Ostwald ripening. As was shown by K. B. Glasner and T. P. Witelski (‘Collision versus collapse of droplets in coarsening of dewetting thin films’, Phys. D209 (1–4), 2005, 80–104) in case of a one-dimensional substrate, the migration of droplets may interfere with Ostwald ripening: The configuration can coarsen by collision rather than by collapse. We study the role of migration in a two-dimensional substrate for a whole range of mobilities. We characterize the velocity of a single droplet immersed into an environment with constant flux field far away. This allows us to describe the dynamics of a droplet configuration on a two-dimensional substrate by a system of ODEs. In particular, we find by heuristic arguments that collision can be a relevant coarsening mechanism.
Levels of Fat-Soluble Micronutrients and 2,6-Cyclolycopene-1,5-Diol in Head and Neck Cancer Patients
Authors: Djuric  , Ronis  , Fowler  , Ren  , Duffy
Published: June 2008

Smoking negatively affects serum carotenoid levels, and it is a negative prognostic factor for head and neck cancer. In this study, micronutrient levels were examined in 60 smoking and non-smoking head and neck cancer patients. The goal was to determine if oxidation of the carotenoid lycopene would occur to a greater extent in smokers. Subjects were drawn from a prospective cohort study and matched on seven demographic factors. Serum levels of α-carotene, zeaxanthin, and 2,6-cyclolycopene-1,5-diol A, an oxidation product of lycopene, were all lower in smokers versus non-smokers (18%, 22%, and 8%, respectively) while β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, and lutein were about the same in the two groups. Levels of lycopene, γ-tocopherol, and α-tocopherol were higher in smokers, and notably serum α-tocopherol was 48% higher in smokers. The majority of vitamin E intake was from supplements. The higher levels of α-tocopherol in smokers were interesting in that higher α-tocopherol levels have been associated with higher mortality in head and neck cancer. Although this was a pilot investigation, there was no evidence that 2,6-cyclolycopene-1,5-diol A formation was appreciably affected by smoking status, but α-tocopherol levels were higher in smokers.
Dietary Intake of Carotenoid Isomers in Israel
Authors: Chaiter  , Rennert  , Fischler  , Rennert  , Rozen  , Gruber  , Amotz
Published: June 2008

Controversy exists regarding the possible protective role of carotenoids against cancer. Evidence is mainly against all-E-β-carotene, while there is no evidence against other carotenoids or against mixtures of β-carotene stereoisomers. Carotenoid isomers could account for the variability in study results but are rarely estimated, and reference to the degree of their consumption is lacking. The aim of our study was to create a comprehensive database of carotenoid isomers content in food items commonly consumed in Israel. Food items were analyzed using a liquid chromatography system to determine the content of carotenoid isomers in Israeli food. The main sources of carotenoids detected in Israeli foods were tomato juice, tomato, watermelon, parsley, coriander, spinach, carrot, sweet potato, banana, zucchini, mango, loquat, pepper, eggplant, and chickpeas. Data were used to measure consumption in healthy participants of a case-control study, using a semi-quantitative food-frequency 187-item questionnaire. Compared to reference studies, the median carotenoid isomers intake in 712 Israeli healthy controls (age range 23–95 years, mean 71 ± 10.9 years, median 73 years) was higher for β-carotene, α-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, and zeaxanthin, while the intake of lycopene was lower. Major differences in consumption were noticed between ethnic groups consuming Mediterranean diets and those consuming Western-type diets. Population consumption patterns of carotenoid isomers using a comprehensive database are used to improve our understanding in disease prevention. Consumption in Israel seems to be generally higher than that reported in studies conducted elsewhere, and varies by ethnic group.