bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Quantitative analysis of surfactant deposits on human skin by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry
Authors: Massey Karen A. , Snelling Anna M. , Nicolaou Anna
Published: April 2010

Surfactants are commonly used as cleansing agents and yet there are concerns that they may also have a role in skin irritation. The lack of suitable methods for the quantitative and qualitative analysis of surfactant deposition on skin has hindered the in‐depth investigation of such effects. Here, we report the application of reversed‐phase liquid chromatography/electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI‐MS/MS) assays for two surfactants commonly used in consumer products, namely sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES) and laurylamidopropyl betaine (LAPB), to a baseline study aiming to assess deposition levels on human skin. The linearity of the assays was established at 3–20 ng, with coefficient of variation below 5%. The detection limits were 100 pg for LAPB and 1 ng for SLES; quantitation limits were 500 pg for LAPB and 2.5 ng for SLES. The baseline study was conducted using a panel of 40 healthy volunteers. Skin extract samples were taken in triplicate from forearms, using ethanol. SLES was detected on most volunteers, with 75% of them having SLES deposits in the range of 100–600 ng/cm2. LAPB was detected on the skin of all volunteers with 85% of them having deposit levels within the concentration range of 1–100 ng/cm2. These results demonstrate the extent to which commonly used surfactants remain on the skin during the day. The analytical methods reported here can be applied to the investigation of surfactants in relation to general skin condition and to the development and optimisation of new consumer wash products. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A Bayesian analysis of mixture structural equation models with non‐ignorable missing responses and covariates
Authors: Cai Jing‐Heng , Song Xin‐Yuan , Hser Yih‐Ing
Published: April 2010

In behavioral, biomedical, and social‐psychological sciences, it is common to encounter latent variables and heterogeneous data. Mixture structural equation models (SEMs) are very useful methods to analyze these kinds of data. Moreover, the presence of missing data, including both missing responses and missing covariates, is an important issue in practical research. However, limited work has been done on the analysis of mixture SEMs with non‐ignorable missing responses and covariates. The main objective of this paper is to develop a Bayesian approach for analyzing mixture SEMs with an unknown number of components, in which a multinomial logit model is introduced to assess the influence of some covariates on the component probability. Results of our simulation study show that the Bayesian estimates obtained by the proposed method are accurate, and the model selection procedure via a modified DIC is useful in identifying the correct number of components and in selecting an appropriate missing mechanism in the proposed mixture SEMs. A real data set related to a longitudinal study of polydrug use is employed to illustrate the methodology. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ICMM—a maturity model for software inspections
Authors: Kollanus Sami
Published: April 2010

Software inspection is widely acknowledged as an important method in software engineering. However, there is a need to better understand how to implement and improve inspection practices. This paper introduces Inspection Capability Maturity Model (ICMM), which provides support for assessment and improvement of software inspection practices in a software organization. The model has been developed iteratively based on a comprehensive literature survey and experiences from eight case organizations. This paper includes a detailed description of the used followed research process, the structure of ICMM and the rationale for the defined criteria. Additionally, the role of this kind of model in inspection process improvement is discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Significance of Crack Initiation Stage in Very High Cycle Fatigue of Steels
Authors: Kazymyrovych V. , Bergström J. , Burman C.
Published: April 2010

Different stages of the Very High Cycle Fatigue (VHCF) crack evolution in tool steels have been explored using a 20 kHz ultrasonic fatigue testing equipment. Extensive experimental data is presented describing VHCF behaviour, strength and crack initiating defects in an AISI H11 tool steel. Striation measurements are used to estimate fatigue crack growth rate, between 10−8 and 10−6 m/cycle, and the number of load cycles required for a crack to grow to critical dimensions. The growth of small fatigue cracks within the “fish‐eye” is shown to be distinctively different from the crack propagation behaviour of larger cracks. More importantly, the crack initiation stage is shown to determine the total fatigue life, which emphasizes the inherent difficulty to detect VHCF cracks prior to failure. Several mechanisms for initiation and early crack growth are possible. Some of them are discussed here: crack development by local accumulation of fatigue damage at the inclusion – matrix interface, hydrogen assisted crack growth and crack initiation by decohesion of carbides from the matrix.
Method of creating starch‐like ultra‐fine rice flour and effect of spray drying on formation of free fatty acid
Authors: Guraya Harmeet , Lima Isabel , Champagne Elaine
Published: April 2010

Rice flour from long, medium, and waxy grain cultivars were processed by passing a 32% rice flour slurry through a microfluidizer at 10 × 104 kPa and spray dryer at three different outlet temperatures (50, 80, and 115°C). Spray‐drying conditions were controlled by the flow rate of the slurry and inlet temperature. Spray‐dried rice flours and unprocessed rice flour were examined for their lipolytic stability during storage for 210 days by measuring free fatty acid (FFA) formation. The percentage of lipid and FFA in rice flour was significantly reduced by spray drying. The resulting amount of lipid and percentage of FFA was rice‐type dependent and related to the amylose content and the outlet temperature. Upon storage, the formation of FFA was lowest for rice flours processed at 115°C outlet temperature as compared to 80°C, 50°C, and control (untreated rice flour). Pin milling of the spray‐dried flour resulted in the breakdown of loose re‐agglomerated rice flour formed during spray drying with a particle size similar to rice starch but increased starch damage by about 1% per pass through pin mill.
Acetylation of banana (Musa paradisiaca L.) and maize (Zea mays L.) starches using a microwave heating procedure and iodine as catalyst: Partial characterization
Authors: Sánchez‐Rivera Mirna M. , Flores‐Ramírez Isabel , Zamudio‐Flores Paul B. , González‐Soto Rosalía A. , Rodríguez‐Ambríz Sandra L. , Bello‐Pérez Luis A.
Published: April 2010

Banana and maize starches were acetylated with acetic anhydride in the presence of different levels of catalytic agent (iodine) using microwave heating. Degree substitution, he Fourier transforms infrared (FT‐IR) spectra, the morphological properties, the gelatinization and retrogradation characteristics, the pasting property and X‐ray diffraction pattern were evaluated. The FT‐IR study showed that acetylation was produced in both starches, a strong absorption band at 1740 cm−1, and this signal rose when the concentration of iodine increased; this pattern was corroborated with degree substitution of both starches. SEM revealed more exo‐corrosion and fusion in acetylated maize starch granules. Acetylated banana starch had higher crystallinity level than maize starch, and the crystallinity level decreased when the catalyst concentration increased. Similar pattern was show for the average temperature and enthalpy of gelatinization. In general, the acetylation retards the starch retrogradation, but at longer storage time this effect was minimized. Difference in the retrogradation level was found between both starches. Using microwave heating and different iodine concentrations as catalyst is possible produce acetylation of starch with specific physicochemical characteristics.
The Lamina Propria of Adult Human Oral Mucosa Harbors a Novel Stem Cell Population
Authors: Marynka-Kalmani Keren , Treves Sandra , Yafee Miri , Rachima Heled , Gafni Yossi , Cohen Malkiel A. , Pitaru Sandu
Published: April 2010

The highly regenerative capacity of the human adult oral mucosa suggests the existence of a robust stem cell (SC) population in its lamina propria (OMLP). The purpose of this study was to characterize the availability, growth, immunophenotype, and potency of this presumable SC population. Cells positive for the embryonic stem cell transcription factors Oct4 and Sox2 and for p75 formed distinct cord-like structure in the OMLP. Regardless of donor age, trillions of cells, termed human oral mucosa stem cells (hOMSC), 95% of which express mesenchymal stromal cell markers, were simply, and reproducibly produced from a biopsy of 3–4 × 2 × 1 mm3. A total of 40–60% of these cells was positive for Oct4, Sox2, and Nanog and 60–80% expressed constitutively neural and neural crest SC markers. hOMSC differentiated in culture into mesodermal (osteoblastic, chondroblastic, and adipocytic), definitive endoderm and ectodermal (neuronal) lineages. Unexpectedly, hOMSC treated with dexamethasone formed tumors consisting of two germ layer-derived tissues when transplanted in severe combined immune deficiency mice. The tumors consisted of tissues produced by neural crest cells during embryogenesis—cartilage, bone, fat, striated muscle, and neural tissue. These results show that the adult OMLP harbors a primitive SC population with a distinct primitive neural-crest like phenotype and identifies the in vivo localization of putative ancestors for this population. This is the first report on ectodermal- and mesodermal-derived mixed tumors formation by a SC population derived from a nonmalignant somatic adult human tissue.
Unraveling the paradox of the autistic self
Authors: Lombardo Michael V. , Baron‐Cohen Simon
Published: April 2010

Paradoxically, individuals with autism spectrum conditions have been characterized as both impaired in self‐referential cognitive processing, yet also egocentric. How can the self in autism be both ‘absent’ (i.e., impaired self‐referential cognition), yet ‘all too present’ (i.e., egocentric)? In this paper, we first review evidence in support of both claims. Second, we highlight new evidence illustrating atypical function of neural systems underlying self‐representation in autism. We suggest that egocentrism and impaired self‐referential cognition are not independent phenomena. Instead, both egocentrism and impaired self‐referential cognition in autism can be resolved as expressions of one common mechanism linked to the atypical function of neural circuitry coding for self‐relevant information. We discuss how autism provides a unique window into the neurodevelopmental mechanisms enabling a critical developmental transition in self‐awareness. This transition involves a dual understanding that one is similar to, yet distinct from others. The neural and cognitive basis of this developmental transition is central to understanding the development of social cognition as well as the paradox of the autistic self and its relation to social impairment in autism. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This article is categorized under:

Psychology > Brain Function and Dysfunction
Assessment of diurnal urinary cortisol excretion in Asian and African elephants using different endocrine methods
Authors: Brown Janine L. , Kersey David C. , Freeman Elizabeth W. , Wagener Tarren
Published: April 2010

Longitudinal urine samples were collected from Asian and African elephants to assess sample processing and immunoassay techniques for monitoring adrenal activity. Temporal profiles of urinary cortisol measured by RIA and EIA, with and without dichloromethane extraction, were similar; all correlation coefficients were >0.90. However, based on regression analyses, cortisol immunoactivity in extracted samples was only 72–81% of that of unextracted values. Within assay technique, RIA values were only 74–81% of EIA values. Collection of 24‐hr urine samples demonstrated a clear diurnal pattern of glucocorticoid excretion, with the lowest concentrations observed just before midnight and peak concentrations occurring around 0600–0800 hr. These results indicate that elephants fit the pattern of a diurnal species, and that glucocorticoid production is affected by a sleep‐wake cycle similar to that described for other terrestrial mammals. Cortisol can be measured in both extracted and unextracted urine using RIA and EIA methodologies. However, unexplained differences in quantitative results suggest there may be sample matrix effects and that data generated using different techniques may not be directly comparable or interchangeable. Zoo Biol 29:274–283, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Laparoscopic Resection is Inappropriate in Patients with Known or Suspected Adrenocortical Carcinoma
Authors: Miller B. S. , Ammori J. B. , Gauger P. G. , Broome J. T. , Hammer G. D. , Doherty G. M.
Published: April 2010

Background

Complete surgical resection is the mainstay of treatment for patients with adrenocortical cancer (ACC). Use of laparoscopy has been questioned in patients with ACC. This study compares the outcomes of patients undergoing laparoscopic versus open resection (OR) for ACC.

Methods

A retrospective review (2003–2008) of patients with ACC was performed. Data were collected for demographics, operative and pathologic data, adjuvant therapy, and outcome. Chi‐square analysis was performed.

Results

Eighty‐eight patients (66% women; median age, 47 (range, 18–81) years) were identified. Seventeen patients underwent laparoscopic adrenalectomy (LA). Median tumor size of those who underwent LA was 7.0 (range, 4–14) cm versus 12.3 (range, 5–27) cm for OR. Recurrent disease in the laparoscopic group occurred in 63% versus 65% in the open group. Mean time to first recurrence for those who underwent LA was 9.6 months (±14) versus 19.2 months (±37.5) in the open group (p < 0.005). Fifty percent of patients who underwent LA had positive margins or notation of intraoperative tumor spill versus 18% of those who underwent OR (p = 0.01). Local recurrence occurred in 25% of the laparoscopic group versus 20% in the open group (p = 0.23). Mean follow‐up was 36.5 months (±43.6).

Conclusions

ACC continues to be a deadly disease, and little to no progress has been made from a treatment standpoint in the past 20 years. Careful and complete surgical resection is of the utmost importance. Although feasible in many cases and tempting, laparoscopic resection should not be attempted in patients with tumors suspicious for or known to be adrenocortical carcinoma.
Clinical and Imaging Assessment of Cervical Lymph Node Metastasis in Papillary Thyroid Carcinomas
Authors: Choi Yoon Jung , Yun Ji Sup , Kook Shin Ho , Jung Eun Choel , Park Yong Lai
Published: April 2010

Background

The goals of this study were to analyze clinical factors that affect cervical lymph node metastasis (LNM) in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), and to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of preoperative ultrasound (US) and computed tomography (CT) of the neck.

Methods

The study sample included 589 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for PTC. Patient age and sex, number, size, and location of tumors, lymphovascular invasion, and extrathyroidal extension were evaluated as risk factors for central and lateral LNM.

Results

Increased risk of lymph node metastasis was found for male patients, <45 years old, with tumor size >1 cm, lymphovascular invasion, and extrathyroidal invasion. Cancers located in the upper neck had a higher relative risk of lateral metastasis than cancers located in the lower neck. Sensitivity of both US and CT imaging was higher for lateral (70‐80%) than for central (42‐47%) LNM. Specificity of US and CT was high (92‐97%) for both central and lateral LNM. Using central lymph node size of greater than 5 mm as an indicator of metastasis, preoperative US had 58.3% sensitivity and 71.4% specificity.

Conclusions

Preoperative US and CT imaging are useful for identifying features that indicate a high risk of LNM and for determining appropriate management of PTC.
A Review of Surgical Informed Consent: Past, Present, and Future. A Quest to Help Patients Make Better Decisions
Authors: Leclercq Wouter K. G. , Keulers Bram J. , Scheltinga Marc R. M. , Spauwen Paul H. M. , van der Wilt Gert‐Jan
Published: April 2010

Background

Informed consent (IC) is a process requiring a competent doctor, adequate transfer of information, and consent of the patient. It is not just a signature on a piece of paper. Current consent processes in surgery are probably outdated and may require major changes to adjust them to modern day legislation. A literature search may provide an opportunity for enhancing the quality of the surgical IC (SIC) process.

Methods

Relevant English literature obtained from PubMed, Picarta, PsycINFO, and Google between 1993 and 2009 was reviewed.

Results

The body of literature with respect to SIC is slim and of moderate quality. The SIC process is an underestimated part of surgery and neither surgeons nor patients sufficiently realize its importance. Surgeons are not specifically trained and lack the competence to guide patients through a legally correct SIC process. Computerized programs can support the SIC process significantly but are rarely used for this purpose.

Conclusions

IC should be integrated into our surgical practice. Unfortunately, a big gap exists between the theoretical/legal best practice and the daily practice of IC. An optimally informed patient will have more realistic expectations regarding a surgical procedure and its associated risks. Well‐informed patients will be more satisfied and file fewer legal claims. The use of interactive computer‐based programs provides opportunities to improve the SIC process.
Complications of Loop Ileostomy Closure in Patients with Rectal Tumor
Authors: Akiyoshi Takashi , Fujimoto Yoshiya , Konishi Tsuyoshi , Kuroyanagi Hiroya , Ueno Masashi , Oya Masatoshi , Yamaguchi Toshiharu
Published: April 2010

Background

Loop ileostomy is customary after very low rectal anastomosis to reduce the rate of pelvic sepsis that can result from anastomotic leakage. To evaluate complications of stoma closure is important to maximize the benefit of making the defunctioning stoma. The aim of this study was to examine possible risk factors associated with complications, especially wound infections, after loop ileostomy closure in patients with rectal tumor.

Methods

Data from 125 consecutive patients who underwent an elective closure of loop ileostomy after primary rectal tumor resection from January 2005 and October 2009 at a single institution were prospectively collected. Nineteen independent clinical variables were examined by univariate and multivariate analyses.

Results

Postoperative complications developed in 21 (16.8%) patients, including 20 (16%) wound infections, 1 (0.8%) ileus, and 1 (0.8%) anastomotic bleeding. There was no postoperative mortality. Risk factors for wound infection included male gender (odds ratio = 5.30; 95% confidence interval 1.14–24.8; p = 0.0339) and surgical site infection (SSI) after primary surgery (odds ratio = 5.00; 95% confidence interval 1.24–20.1; p = 0.0234). Mean length of postoperative hospital stay was significantly longer in patients with complications than in patients without them (14.0 versus 11.0 days; p = 0.0078).

Conclusions

The present study showed that most complications associated with ileostomy closure in a homogeneous group of patients with rectal tumor were wound infections. Male gender and SSI after primary surgery were independent risk factors for the development of wound infections. Surgeons should be aware of such high‐risk patients, and techniques other than primary closure might need to be considered in high‐risk patients to reduce wound infections.
Management of Acute Sigmoid Volvulus: An Institution’s Experience Over 9 Years
Authors: Tan Ker‐Kan , Chong Choon‐Seng , Sim Richard
Published: April 2010

Introduction

Management of sigmoid volvulus is often challenging because of its prevalence in high‐risk patients and the associated perioperative morbidity and mortality rates. This study was designed to review the management and outcome of all patients admitted with sigmoid volvulus.

Methods

A retrospective review of all patients who were admitted for sigmoid volvulus from October 2001 to June 2009 was performed. Diagnosis was confirmed on clinical evaluation, radiological studies, and/or intraoperative findings.

Results

Seventy‐one patients, median age 73 (range, 17–96) years, were admitted a total of 134 times for acute sigmoid volvulus during the study period. The majority (n = 51, 71.8%) were older than aged 60 years, and 41 (57.7%) had at least one premorbid condition. Seven (9.9%) patients underwent emergency surgery on presentation. The remaining 64 (90.1%) patients were initially managed conservatively using a flatus tube and/or sigmoidoscopic decompression. One patient had an endoscopic‐related perforation and required emergency surgery. Another ten patients failed conservative management for which nine underwent operative intervention. The last patient refused surgery and died subsequently. Fifty‐three (74.6%) patients had successful conservative management; seven of them underwent elective surgery subsequently. Of the remaining 46 patients, 28 (60.9%) were admitted for recurrent sigmoid volvulus. Of these 28 patients, 12 eventually had elective surgery after successful decompression, whereas the remaining 16 were not operated. In our series, three patients died after emergency surgery and there was no mortality after elective surgery. Another six patients died from medical conditions that were unrelated to sigmoid volvulus.

Conclusions

Acute sigmoid volvulus is a surgical emergency, although the majority (75%) can be successfully decompressed nonoperatively. Emergency surgery in these patients is associated with a mortality of 17.6% in our series. Elective definitive surgery is suggested in view of the high recurrence rate (>60%) and the considerable risks of emergency surgery.
Prognostic Impact of Para‐aortic Lymph Node Metastasis in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma
Authors: Murakami Yoshiaki , Uemura Kenichiro , Sudo Takeshi , Hashimoto Yasushi , Yuasa Yoshio , Sueda Taijiro
Published: April 2010

Background

The aim of the present study was to clarify the prognostic impact of para‐aortic lymph node metastasis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Methods

Medical records of 103 consecutive patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, who underwent pancreatic resection with regional and para‐aortic lymph node dissection were reviewed retrospectively. Clinicopathological factors and survival were compared between patients with and without para‐aortic lymph node metastasis.

Results

Tumor size (p = 0.045), extrapancreatic nerve plexus invasion (p = 0.043), UICC pT factor (p = 0.026), and surgical margin status (p = 0.002) were associated significantly with para‐aortic lymph node metastasis. Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy (p < 0.001) and absence of extrapancreatic nerve plexus invasion (p = 0.041) were associated independently with longer survival, but para‐aortic lymph node metastasis (p = 0.078) was not associated significantly with survival by multivariate analysis. The 2‐ and 5‐year survival rates and median survival time of patients with and without para‐aortic lymph node metastasis were 12, 0%, 12.4 months and 49, 23%, 14.5 months, respectively, and there was a significant difference in survival between the two groups by a log‐rank test (p < 0.001). Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy significantly improved the survival of patients with para‐aortic lymph node metastasis (p = 0.025).

Conclusions

The prognosis of patients with para‐aortic lymph node metastasis is poor in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. However, postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy may improve survival.
The outcomes of methicillin‐resistantStaphylococcus aureusinfection after living donor liver transplantation in a Japanese center
Authors: Takatsuki Mitsuhisa , Eguchi Susumu , Yamanouchi Kosho , Hidaka Masaaki , Soyama Akihiko , Miyazaki Kensuke , Tajima Yoshitsugu , Kanematsu Takashi
Published: April 2010

Objective

The objective of this study is to present results from our review of methicillin‐resistantStaphylococcus aureus(MRSA) infection in living‐donor liver transplant (LDLT) recipients.

Methods

Seventy patients with primary LDLT between August 1997 and May 2007 were retrospectively reviewed.

Results

Overall, 9 patients (12.9%) encountered various kinds of MRSA infection after transplantation [peritonitis (6), bacteremia (6), pneumonia (3), wound infection (3), cholangitis (1)]; 4 of these 9 patients died. Of these 4 expired patients, 3 were highly urgent cases with very poor pretransplant status under ventilator support. In one patient, linezolid was effective after teicoplanin failure for severe systemic MRSA infections (bacteremia, peritonitis, cholangitis, pneumonia, and enteritis). Of the 4 patients in whom MRSA was isolated only in a nasal swab before transplantation, none developed MRSA infection after transplantation with a 3‐day course of mupirocin prophylaxis.

Conclusions

MRSA infection was a contributing factor in death after transplantation in cases with poor pretransplant status. Linezolid was effective even for treating systemic MRSA infection after LDLT. A short course of mupirocin prophylaxis seemed to be effective and did not have any adverse effects.
Effects of multiple oral dosing of itraconazole on the pharmacokinetics of cyclosporine in cats
Authors: Katayama Masaaki , Katayama Rieko , Kamishina Hiroaki
Published: April 2010

Itraconazole (Icz) has been known to increase the cyclosporine (CsA) trough level in human transplant patients. However, the interaction of Icz with CsA has not been reported in cats. In this study, the effect of multiple dosing of Icz on the pharmacokinetics of CsA in three healthy cats was investigated. The treatments included CsA 5 mg/kg alone and CsA 5 mg/kg+multiple-dose of Icz 10 mg/kg. Co-administration of Icz with CsA resulted in significant increases of oral bioavailability of CsA. The results of our study suggest that administration of multiple therapeutic doses of Icz may decrease the required CsA dosage in CsA-based immunosuppressive therapy used for renal transplantation in cats.
Does regulatory impact assessment lead to better policy?
Authors: Carroll Peter
Published: April 2010

Regulatory impact assessment systems bring evidence to bear on how to improve the quality of new or modified regulations. In the last 30 years they have become increasingly common in OECD countries. Regulatory proposals put forward by government agencies are now required to have a firm evidence base that clearly supports the new or modified regulation. However, in all jurisdictions actual practice has shown that the performance of the impact assessment systems has been very limited, with proposed regulation continuing to offer little in the way of a rigorous and convincing evidence base. This paper explores the reasons for the poor performance of evidence-based approaches. Reasons include the varying levels of ministerial and head of department/agency commitment, poor integration of impact assessment systems with existing policy development processes, variable capacity for rigorous, evidence-based policy in departments, and a lack of data on which evidence-based policy can be developed.
Solidarity in Europe
Authors: Stjernø Steinar
Published: April 2010

Solidarity in Europe is a comprehensive study of the idea of solidarity from the early nineteenth century to the present. It covers social and political theory, Protestant and Catholic social ethics, and the development of the concept of solidarity in eight European nations - Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Steinar Stjernø examines how solidarity has been defined, and how this definition has changed since the early nineteenth century. He analyses different aspects of solidarity: what is the foundation of solidarity? Is it personal or common interest, 'sameness', altruism, religion, empathy, or cognition? What is the goal of solidarity? How inclusive should it be? The book also compares the different concepts of solidarity in social democratic, Christian democratic, communist and fascist parties.
The Irish Tradition in Old English Literature
Authors: Wright Charles D.
Published: April 2010

Irish monks and missionaries played a crucial role in the conversion of the pagan Anglo-Saxons and in the formation of Christian culture in England, but the nature and extent of Irish influence on Old English poetry has remained largely undefined. Charles Wright identifies the characteristic features of Irish Christian literature which influenced Anglo-Saxon vernacular authors. Professor Wright traces the Irish background of the distinctive contents of Vercelli Homily IX and its remarkable exemplum, 'The Devil's Account of the Next World', and traces the dissemination of related stylistic and thematic material elsewhere in Old English literature, including other anonymous homilies such as Beowulf and the Solomon and Saturn texts. As a full-length study of Irish influence on Old English religious literature, the book will appeal to scholars in Old English literature, Anglo-Saxon studies, and Old and Middle Irish literature.
Integrated Land Use and Transport Modelling
Authors: Barra Tomas de la
Published: April 2010

The integration of the location of activities in space and the use of transport has been a theoretical planning issue for many years. However, most books on this subject treat each component of the land use and transportation system with different, sometimes even conflicting, theories. The purpose of this book is to present the issue in the light of a single and consistent theoretical framework, that of random utility theory and discrete choice models. This is achieved in a methodical way, reviewing microeconomic theory related to the use of space, spatial interaction models, entropy maximising models, and finally, random utility theory. Emphasis is given to the concepts of decision chains and hierarchies. Spatial input-output models are also discussed, followed by chapters specifically dealing with the location of activities, the land market and the transport system. The book ends with the description of a number of real case studies to show how the theory can be used in practice.
Templets and the Explanation of Complex Patterns
Authors: Katz Michael J.
Published: April 2010

Where does the particular form or configuration of a pattern come from, and how is it propagated from pattern to pattern? Templets and the Explanation of Complex Patterns provides a natural language for analysing such questions. Using it, the organisational forces that underlie the fabrication of any pattern can be divided into two classes. First, there are the 'universal laws' of pattern assembly, the configurational rules and constraints inherent within the fabric of the pattern elements themselves. Second, there are the 'templets' - external, situational constraints imposed on the pattern elements. From the perspective of templeting, simple patterns can be directly contrasted with complex patterns: the former are completely determined by their universal laws, whereas the latter also require extensive templets. Natural patterns range along the entire spectrum from simple to complex, and the most complex of these include both random patterns and many biological patterns.
Politics and Form in Postmodern Poetry
Authors: Blasing Mutlu Konuk
Published: April 2010

Approaching post-World War II poetry from a postmodern critical perspective, this study challenges the prevailing assumption that experimental forms signify political opposition while traditional forms are politically conservative. Such essentialist alignments of forms with extra-formal values, and the oppositional framework of innovation versus conservation that they yield, reflect modernist biases inappropriate for reading postwar poetry. Biasing defines postmodern poetry as a break with modernism's valorization of technique and its implicit collusion with technological progress. She shows that four major postwar poets - Frank O'Hara, Elizabeth Bishop, John Ashbery and James Merrill (two traditional and two experimental) - cannot be read as politically conservative because formally traditional or as culturally oppositional because formally experimental. All of these poets acknowledge that no one form is more natural than another, and no given form grants them a superior position for judging cultural and political arrangements. Their work plays an important cultural role precisely by revealing that meanings and values do not inhere in forms but are always and irreducibly rhetorical.
Quality and Quantity
Authors: Schneider William H.
Published: April 2010

This book, first published in 1991, examines in detail how eugenics in early twentieth-century France provided a broad cover for a variety of reform movements that attempted to bring about the biological regeneration of the French population. Like several other societies during this period, France showed a growing interest in natalist, neo-Larmarckian, social hygiene, racist, and other biologically based movements as a response to the perception that French society was in a state of decline and degeneration. William Schneider's study provides a fascinating account of attempts to apply new discoveries in biology and medicine toward the improvement in the inherited biological quality of the population through such measures as birth control, premarital examinations, sterilization, and immigration restriction. It is the first attempt to set forth the major components of French eugenics both for comparison with other countries and to show the interaction of the various movements that comprised it.
Japan's Network Economy
Authors: Lincoln James R. , Gerlach Michael L.
Published: April 2010

Japan's economy has long been described as network-centric. A web of stable, reciprocated relations among banks, firms, and ministries, is thought to play an important role in Japan's ability to navigate smoothly around economic shocks. Now those networks are widely blamed for Japan's faltering competitiveness. This book applies structural sociology to a study of how the form and functioning of this network economy has evolved from the prewar era to the late 90s. It asks whether, in the face of deregulation, globalization, and financial disintermediation, Japan's corporate networks - the keiretsu groupings particularly - have 'withered away', losing their cohesion and their historical function of supporting member firms in hard times. Using detailed quantitative and qualitative analysis, this book's conclusion is a qualified 'yes'. Relationships remain central to the Japanese way of business, but are much more subordinated to the competitive strategy of the enterprise than the network economy of the past.
The Letters of Thomas Babington MacAulay
Authors: MacAulay Thomas
Published: April 2010

The years covered in this fifth volume of Macaulay's letters were a striking mixture of triumph and loss. The publication of the first part of The History of England at the end of 1848 set Macaulay at the top of his fame, not merely in England, but on the Continent and in America. Honours came pouring in, and the sales of his books began to make him a rich man. The publication of the second part of the History in 1855 was a publishing event of unparalleled magnitude: 25,000 copies were subscribed at once in England, and four times that number were quickly sold in the United States. To add to his triumph, the people of Edinburgh, who had so rudely and unexpectedly rejected him in 1847 as their representative in parliament, now recanted; though Macaulay refused even to appear before them, they insisted upon returning him to parliament, and did so in 1852.
Waves and Mean Flows
Authors: Bühler Oliver
Published: April 2010

Interactions between waves and mean flows play a crucial role in understanding the long-term aspects of atmospheric and oceanographic modelling. Indeed, our ability to predict climate change hinges on our ability to model waves accurately. This book gives a modern account of the nonlinear interactions between waves and mean flows such as shear flows and vortices. A detailed account of the theory of linear dispersive waves in moving media is followed by a thorough introduction to classical wave–mean interaction theory. The author then extends the scope of the classical theory and lifts its restriction to zonally symmetric mean flows. The book is a fundamental reference for graduate students and researchers in fluid mechanics, and can be used as a text for advanced courses; it will also be appreciated by geophysicists and physicists who need an introduction to this important area in fundamental fluid dynamics and atmosphere-ocean science.
Communicating Social Support
Authors: Goldsmith Daena J.
Published: April 2010

When stresses and hassles challenge our abilities to cope, we frequently turn to family, friends, and partners for help. Yet social support from close relational partners does not uniformly benefit recipients or their relationships. By probing the communication processes that link enactments of social support to participants' reactions, this book provides new explanations for when and how receiving social support will be evaluated as helpful and relationally satisfying. The author's research addresses a variety of types of relationships and stresses, including young adult friends and romantic partners coping with the stresses of university life; adult friends, family and spouses responding to everyday hassles' and married couples coping with chronic health conditions. This innovative program of research combines qualitative and quantitative methods to develop a distinctive communication-based framework for understanding why the content, form, style, and sequence of talk matter for our evaluations of the help we receive from others.
Symmetry and its Discontents
Authors: Zabell S. L.
Published: April 2010

This volume brings together a collection of essays on the history and philosophy of probability and statistics by one of the eminent scholars in these subjects. Written over the last fifteen years, they fall into three broad categories. The first deals with the use of symmetry arguments in inductive probability, in particular, their use in deriving rules of succession (Carnap's 'continuum of inductive methods'). The second group deals with four outstanding individuals who made lasting contributions to probability and statistics in very different ways: Frank Ramsey, R. A. Fisher, Alan Turing, and Abraham de Moivre. The last group of essays deals with the problem of 'predicting the unpredictable' - making predictions when the range of possible outcomes is unknown in advance. The essays weave together the history and philosophy of these subjects and document the fascination that they have exercised for more than three centuries.
Globalisation and the Western Legal Tradition
Authors: Goldman David B.
Published: April 2010

What can 'globalisation' teach us about law in the Western tradition? This important new work seeks to explore that question by analysing key ideas and events in the Western legal tradition, including the Papal Revolution, the Protestant Reformations and the Enlightenment. Addressing the role of law, morality and politics, it looks at the creation of orders which offer the possibility for global harmony, in particular the United Nations and the European Union. It also considers the unification of international commercial laws in the attempt to understand Western law in a time of accelerating cultural interconnections. The title will appeal to scholars of legal history and globalisation as well as students of jurisprudence and all those trying to understand globalisation and the Western dynamic of law and authority.
The Numerical Solution of Integral Equations of the Second Kind
Authors: Atkinson Kendall E.
Published: April 2010

This book provides an extensive introduction to the numerical solution of a large class of integral equations. The initial chapters provide a general framework for the numerical analysis of Fredholm integral equations of the second kind, covering degenerate kernel, projection and Nystrom methods. Additional discussions of multivariable integral equations and iteration methods update the reader on the present state of the art in this area. The final chapters focus on the numerical solution of boundary integral equation (BIE) reformulations of Laplace's equation, in both two and three dimensions. Two chapters are devoted to planar BIE problems, which include both existing methods and remaining questions. Practical problems for BIE such as the set up and solution of the discretised BIE are also discussed. Each chapter concludes with a discussion of the literature and a large bibliography serves as an extended resource for students and researchers needing more information on solving particular integral equations.
Conversations with an Alzheimer's Patient
Authors: Hamilton Heidi Ehernberger
Published: April 2010

Alzheimer's disease is a degenerative brain disease which has major social consequences for the individuals affected and for those people who are emotionally and/or physically close to them. The role which language plays in such relationships stands at the centre of this book. In contrast to traditional analyses carried out by psycholinguists, neurologists and speech pathologists, with speech samples elicited in clinical settings, Heidi Hamilton examines language in the life of one elderly female Alzheimer's patient from an interactional sociolinguistic perspective. The language of open-ended, naturally occurring conversations between the patient and the author, over four-and-a-half years, is investigated in an attempt to understand how the patient's communicative abilities and disabilities are related and how they change over time, and, importantly, how they are influenced by pre-emptive and reactive communicative behaviours on the part of the patient's healthy interlocutor.
Beliefs in Action
Authors: Da Fonseca Eduardo Giannetti
Published: April 2010

This book is concerned with the role of economic philosophy ('ideas') in the processes of belief-formation and social change. Its aim is to further our understanding of the behaviour of the individual economic agent by bringing to light and examining the function of non-rational dispositions and motivations ('passions') in the determination of the agent's beliefs and goals. Drawing on the work of David Hume and Adam Smith the book spells out the particular ways in which the passions come to affect our ordinary understanding and conduct in practical affairs and the intergenerational and interpersonal transmission of ideas through language. Concern with these problems, it is argued, lies at the heart of an important tradition in British moral philosophy. This emphasis on the non-rational nature of our belief-fixation mechanisms has important implications: it helps to clarify and qualify the misleading claims often made by utilitarian, Marxist, Keynesian and neo-liberal economic philosophers, all of whom stress the overriding power of ideas to shape conduct, policy and institutions.
History, Culture and the Indian City
Authors: Chandavarkar Rajnayaran
Published: April 2010

Raj Chandavarkar was one of the finest Indian historians of the twentieth century. He died sadly young in 2006, leaving behind a very substantial collection of unpublished lectures, papers and articles. These have now been assembled and edited by Jennifer Davis, Gordon Johnson and David Washbrook, and their appearance will be widely welcomed by large numbers of scholars of Indian history, politics and society. The essays centre around three major themes: the city of Bombay, Indian politics and society, and Indian historiography. Each manifests Dr Chandavarkar's hallmark historical powers of imaginative empirical richness, analytic acuity and expository elegance, and the collection as a whole will make both a major contribution to the historiography of modern India, and a worthy memorial to a major scholar.
Spirits of Protest
Authors: Fry Peter
Published: April 2010

In this study, Peter Fry describes and analyses spirit-mediumship amongst a community of Zezuru people living near Salisbury in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). He examines the belief system which underpins spirit-mediumship and the basis of the mediums' authority. He pays special attention to the way in which religious beliefs are used politically in specific social situations ranging from village disputes to issues of national importance. Instead of portraying the spirits and their mediums as a fixed and stable hierarchy, Peter Fry stresses the dynamics of a religious system which changes over time in relation to changing external factors and to the ability of individual competing mediums to build up followings by responding to and moulding consensus. The book makes comparisons between the religious systems of the Zezuru and the Valley Korekore, both subgroups of Shona-speaking peoples, and concludes by discussing the role of Zezuru mediums in the context of the confrontation between black and white nationalisms. The spirit-mediums, opposed structurally to the white mission churches, are seen as vehicles of black cultural nationalism in the area.
Structural Models in Anthropology
Authors: Hage Per , Harary Frank
Published: April 2010

Hage and Harary present a comprehensive introduction to the use of graph theory in social and cultural anthropology. Using a wide range of empirical examples, the authors illustrate how graph theory can provide a language for expressing in a more exact fashion concepts and notions that can only be imperfectly rendered verbally. They show how graphs, digraphs and networks, together with their associated matrices and duality laws, facilitate the study of such diverse topics as mediation and power in exchange systems, reachability in social networks, efficiency in cognitive schemata, logic in kinship relations, and productivity in subsistence modes. The interaction between graphs and groups provides further means for the analysis of transformations in myths and permutations in symbolic systems. The totality of these structural models aids in the collection as well as the interpretation of field data. The presentation is clear, precise and readily accessible to the nonmathematical reader. It emphasizes the implicit presence of graph theory in much of anthropological thinking.
Hunting and the Politics of Violence before the English Civil War
Authors: Beaver Daniel C.
Published: April 2010

A major contribution to debates about the origins of the Civil War, this study of English forests and hunting from the late sixteenth century to the early 1640s explores their significance in the symbolism and effective power of royalty and the nobility in early modern England. Blending social, cultural and political history, Dan Beaver examines the interrelationships among four local communities to explain the violent political conflicts in the forests in the years leading up to the civil war. Adopting a micro-historical approach, the book explores how local politics became bound up with national political and ideological divisions. The author argues that, from the early seventeenth century, a politics of land use in forests and other hunting reserves involved its participants in a sophisticated political discourse, touching on the principles of law and justice, the authority of the crown and the nature of a commonwealth.