bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A High-Resolution Simulation of the Year 2003 for Germany Using the Regional Model COSMO
Authors: Kücken Martin , Hauffe Detlef , Österle Hermann 
Published: May 2012

AbstractIn this article, the authors examine the effect of a high-resolution grid (grid resolution lower than 3 km) in the context of a realistic climate simulation. For this purpose global simulation results of the German Weather Service were dynamically downscaled in a one-way nesting approach to 2.8 km using the regional forecast model of the Consortium for Small-Scale Modeling (COSMO) of the German Weather Service. The simulations were performed for the region of central Europe in 2003. In particular, the authors investigate whether COSMO adequately handles extreme events such as the persistent drought and heat of the summer of 2003. Comparisons of the simulated atmospheric conditions in terms of 2-m temperature, mean sea level pressure, and precipitation demonstrated a good correspondence to their associated observational data. Simulation results and observed data are both given as time series at locations such as grid cells or station locations. By cluster analysis a representation of the spatial structure for observation data and simulation results is found. The kappa statistic evaluates how well the two spatial structures correspond to each other. The different kappa variants are helpful to diagnose where shortcomings of the simulation results are located.
3DVAR versus Traditional Dual-Doppler Wind Retrievals of a Simulated Supercell Thunderstorm
Authors: Potvin Corey K. , Betten Daniel , Wicker Louis J. , Elmore Kimberly L. , Biggerstaff Michael I. 
Published: May 2012

Abstract
Use of the three-dimensional variational data assimilation (3DVAR) framework in dual-Doppler wind analysis (DDA) offers several advantages over traditional techniques. Perhaps the most important is that the errors that result from explicit integration of the mass continuity equation in traditional methods are avoided. In this study, observing system simulation experiments (OSSEs) are used to compare supercell thunderstorm wind retrievals from a 3DVAR DDA technique and three traditional DDA methods. The 3DVAR technique produces better wind retrievals near the top of the storm than the traditional methods in the experiments. This is largely attributed to the occurrence of severe errors aloft in the traditional retrievals whether the continuity equation integration proceeds upward (due to vertically accumulating errors), downward (due to severe boundary condition errors arising from uncertainty in the horizontal divergence field aloft), or in both directions. Smaller, but statistically significant, improvement occurs near the ground using the 3DVAR method. When lack of upper-level observations prevents application of a top boundary condition in the traditional DDA framework, the 3DVAR approach produces better analyses at all levels. These results strongly suggest the 3DVAR DDA framework is generally preferable to traditional formulations.
A place to live: Housing needs for people with psychotic disorders identified in the second Australian national survey of psychosis
Authors: Harvey Carol , Killackey Eoin , Groves Aaron , Herrman Helen 
Published: May 2012

Objective: Access to adequate housing consistent with personal preferences and needs is a human right and supports recovery from psychosis. This study aimed to: (1) describe people with psychosis living in different housing types, and their preferences and needs; (2) explore selected demographic and social inclusion correlates in relation to housing; and (3) compare two subgroups – participants living in supported group accommodation and supported housing – on key demographic, functional, clinical and social inclusion variables. Method: Current housing, preferences, needs and assistance, and housing-related social inclusion variables were assessed in a two-phase prevalence survey conducted within seven catchment areas across five Australian states. Two supported housing models were compared: supported group accommodation and supported housing (rental accommodation with in-reach support). Descriptive statistics were used. Results: Of the total participants (n = 1825), one half were living in public or private rented housing (48.6%) and 22.7% were waiting for public housing. Despite being the preferred form of housing, only 13.1% were living in their own home. One in 20 participants (5.2%) was currently homeless; 12.8% had been homeless in the previous 12 months. Residents of supported group accommodation felt safer in their locality than those in supported housing, but experienced less privacy and choice. Conclusions: Although fewer participants were homeless compared with the first Australian survey of psychosis, the proportion remains high. Housing difficulties are experienced by people with psychoses living in various accommodation and concern housing adequacy and safety as well as autonomy and choice. Access to public housing is restricted compared with the identified need. Since residents of supported group accommodation felt safer in their locality than those in supported housing, but experienced less privacy and choice, each supported housing model may offer different advantages to people with psychosis, and contribute to services that support and maintain recovery.
Managing Medical Equipment Used by Technology-Dependent Children
Authors: Jackson Jennifer M. , Radulovic Andrea , Nageswaran Savithri 
Published: May 2012

Objectives. To evaluate the effectiveness of a workshop on managing medical devices used in technology-dependent children. Methods. Study participants included residents and medical students rotating in the pediatrics department at the time of the study. A workshop was conducted consisting of learning stations for common medical devices, including brief presentations and opportunities for hands-on practice with each device. Participants completed surveys before and after the workshop assessing their perceived ability to manage medical equipment before and after the workshop and their ongoing learning needs. Results. All participants indicated a substantial need for training on how to manage medical devices used by technology-dependent patients. Scores for perceived ability to manage the devices improved significantly after workshop participation for nearly all devices taught. Conclusions. Medical trainees have significant learning needs for managing devices used by technology-dependent patients. Hands-on, small-group training can be an effective instructional tool for improving confidence in these skills.
Anarchism and Counterinformation in Documentaries
Authors: Prado Antonio 
Published: May 2012

The work of anarchist collectives in the film industry during the Spanish Civil War and the video documentaries of Grupo Alavío in post-2001 Argentina, as represented in two documentaries that attest to historical moments of worker self-management, shows historical and aesthetic intersections. Both were devoted to disseminating information counter to the official line of the mass media, and in neither was there a desire to take over the state; instead, the movements they represented denied the very legitimacy of the state. In the tradition of the Soviet filmmaker Dziga Vertov, both crafted meanings out of sequences of images of all kinds, and both paid homage to the masses awakening to social emancipation. Similarly to the Soviet film vanguard of the 1920s, both can be understood as organic parts of the transformations that they portrayed. La obra de colectivos anarquistas en la industria del cine durante la Guerra Civil Española y los video-documentales del Grupo Alavío en la Argentina del pos 2001, representadas en dos documentales que atestiguan los momentos históricos de auto-gestión laboral, demuestran una intersección histórica y estética. Ambas se dedicaban a la difusión de información contraria a la línea oficial de los medios de comunicación, y ninguna deseaba apoderarse del estado; en lugar de ello los movimientos que representaban negaban la propia legitimidad del estado. En la tradición del cineasta soviético Dziga Vertov, ambos elaboraban significados de secuencias de imágenes de todo tipo, y ambos prestaron homenaje al despertar de las masas y la emancipación social. Igual a la vanguardia del cine soviético de los años mil novecientos veinte, ambos pueden entenderse como piezas orgánicas de la transformación que retrataban.
The Split-Person Narrative
Authors: Wilson Kristi 
Published: May 2012

The Argentine director Albertina Carri’s documentary/docudrama Los rubios confounds the binary between postmodern and neoconservative trends in recent Latin American cultural studies and popular media. It breaks the mold for ways in which the sons and daughters of the victims of political genocide can talk about their memories, inviting a pointedly feminist/postmodernist reading that plays with Baudrillard’s notion of seduction in its challenge to established order. Carri’s apparently postmodern rejection of the truth, facts, and master narratives expected from the politically involved descendants of disappeared activists opens up critical spaces for reflection about the discourse of meaning. El documental/docudrama de la directora argentina Albertina Carri, Los Rubios, confunde la binaria entre las tendencias posmodernas y neoconservadoras en los estudios recientes de la cultura y medios populares latinoamericanos. Se rompen los moldes por los cuales los hijos e hijas de las victimas del genocidio político pueden hablar de sus memorias, invitando una lectura intencionadamente feminista/posmodernista que juega con la noción baudrillardista de la seducción en su reto al orden establecido. Lo que aparenta ser un rechazo posmoderno de la verdad, los hechos y narrativas maestras esperadas de los políticamente involucrados descendientes de desaparecidos abre espacios críticos para la reflexión del discurso del significado.
Cognitive Skills and Academic Achievement of Deaf Children with Cochlear Implants
Authors: Huber Maria , Kipman Ulrike 
Published: May 2012

ObjectiveTo compare cognitive performance between children with cochlear implants (CI) and normal‐hearing peers; provide information about correlations between cognitive performance, basic academic achievement, and medical/audiological and social background variables; and assess the predictor quality of these variables for cognition.Study DesignCross‐sectional study with comparison group, diagnostic test assessment.SettingData were collected in the authors’ clinic (children with CI) and in Austrian schools (normal‐hearing children).Subjects and MethodsForty children with CI (of the initial 65 children eligible for this study), aged 7 to 11 years, and 40 normal‐hearing children, matched by age and sex, were tested with (a) the Culture Fair Intelligence Test (CFIT); (b) the Number Sequences subtest of the Heidelberger Rechentest 1‐4 (HRT); (c) Comprehension, (d) Coding, (e) Digit Span, and (f) Vocabulary subtests of HAWIK III (German WISC III); (g) the Corsi Block Tapping Test; (h) the Arithmetic Operations subtests of the HRT; and (i) Salzburger Lese–Screening (SLS, reading). In addition, medical, audiological, social, and educational data from children with CI were collected.ResultsThe children with CI equaled normal‐hearing children in (a), (d), (e), (g), (h), and (i) and performed significantly worse in (b), (c) and (f). Background variables correlate significantly with cognitive skills and academic achievement. Medical/audiological variables explain 44.3% of the variance in CFT1 (CFIT, younger children). Social variables explain 55% of CFT1 and 24.5% of the Corsi test.ConclusionsThis study augments the knowledge about cognitive skills and academic skills of children with CI. Cognitive performance is dependent on the early feasibility to hear and the social/educational background of the family.
Establishment of an animal model of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in rabbits
Authors: Lu S , Pan S , Wang C , Hu K , Hong T 
Published: May 2012

Objective: This study was undertaken to establish an animal model of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in rabbits. Methods: Ten New Zealand white rabbits weighing 2573±330 g were used in this study. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was established in these animals through cannulation of the right carotid artery and jugular vein for arterial perfusion and venous return. The components of the perfusion circuit were specially designed. Arterial blood pressure was measured with a blood pressure meter through cannulation of the right femoral artery. The heart rate and blood gas parameters were also monitored by electrocardiography and a blood gas analyzer (Radiometer ABL800, Bronshøj, Denmark), respectively. Results: The rabbit model of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was established successfully. The hemodynamic and blood gas parameters were changed within an acceptable range during the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation process. The specially designed miniature membrane oxygenator was sufficient to meet the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation needs in this animal model. Conclusion: The rabbit model of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation established through right carotid artery and jugular vein cannulation is feasible, easily operated and economical. It is an ideal model for further research of the pathophysiology and organ protection offered through the application of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.
Comparison of the effects of pulsatile cardiopulmonary bypass, non-pulsatile cardiopulmonary bypass and off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting on the respiratory system and serum carbonyl
Authors: Bayram H , Erer D , Iriz E , Zor M Hakan , Gulbahar O , Ozdogan ME 
Published: May 2012

Background: We aimed to investigate the effects of off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), pulsatile cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), and non-pulsatile CPB techniques on oxidative stress and the respiratory system in the current study. Materials and Methods: The patients were allocated into three different groups according to perfusion techniques, as follows: off-pump CABG group (n=10); pulsatile CPB (n=11); and non-pulsatile CPB group (n=11). Serum carbonyl level was measured and a pulmonary function test was performed preoperatively and postoperatively. Results: The postoperative increase in the carbonyl level was significantly lower in the off-pump CABG group compared to the other two groups, while there was no significant difference between the pulsatile and non-pulsatile CPB groups with respect to carbonyl levels. Arterial partial pressure of oxygen, forced expiratory volume in one second, and forced vital capacity were significantly higher in the off-pump CABG group compared to other two groups in the postoperative period. Conclusion: We found that off-pump CABG had less negative effects on oxidative stress and the respiratory system compared to pulsatile CPB and non-pulsatile CPB techniques. Additionally, there was no significant difference between pulsatile and non-pulsatile CPB.
Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome induced by adrenaline
Authors: Palma Jose-Alberto , Fontes-Villalba Ariadna , Irimia Pablo , Garcia-Eulate Reyes , Martinez-Vila Eduardo 
Published: May 2012

Introduction: Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) is characterized by acute severe thunderclap headaches and evidence of multifocal, segmental, reversible vasoconstrictions of the cerebral arteries. Several precipitating factors have been identified and reported, including the use of recreational substances or sympathomimetic drugs and the postpartum state. Case description: Here we present the case of a woman who developed RCVS after the administration of adrenaline (epinephrine) in the setting of an anaphylactic reaction during antibiotic allergy testing. Discussion: To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of RCVS following the administration of exogenous adrenaline. This case contributes to the understanding of the physiopathological mechanisms underlying reversible cerebral vasoconstriction.
Asset Ownership and Egalitarian Decision Making in Dual-headed Households in Ecuador
Authors: Deere Carmen Diana , Twyman Jennifer 
Published: May 2012

Most studies of household decision making focus on the factors associated with women’s ability to make decisions autonomously. This paper is concerned with egalitarian decision making, defined as where both men and women consider that they themselves make decisions jointly, and where they agree that their spouses participate in decisions in a similar fashion. We offer evidence that in Ecuador women’s command over resources is associated with egalitarian decision making among couples. Women’s share of couples’ wealth is positively and significantly associated with the likelihood of joint decision making regarding their decision to work and to spend income. JEL classification: J16; D13; D31; 054
The Growth Imperative
Authors: Hahnel Robin 
Published: May 2012

There are compelling reasons to believe there is an unhealthy growth imperative inherent in private enterprise market systems that threatens the environment. Unfortunately, many who criticize a dysfunctional growth imperative fail to make a compelling case. This article argues that too often ecological and Marxist economists fail to answer crucial parts of skeptics’ arguments and instead assume their conclusions, and offers an alternative defense of the unhealthy growth imperative hypothesis based on perverse incentives, institutional biases, and endogenous preference formation. JEL codes: 044, 030, 013
Is There a Tendency for the Rate of Profit to Fall? Econometric Evidence for the U.S. Economy, 1948-2007
Authors: Basu Deepankar , Manolakos Panayiotis T. 
Published: May 2012

The law of the tendential fall in the rate of profit has been at the center of theoretical and empirical debates within Marxian political economy since the publication of volume III of Capital. An important limitation of this literature is the relative paucity of modern econometric investigations of the behavior of the rate of profit. The central objective of this paper is to remedy this lacuna. We investigate the properties of the profit rate series utilizing the methods of time series econometrics. The evidence suggests that the rate of profit is non-stationary. We also specify a test of Marx’s law of the tendential fall in the rate of profit with a novel econometric model that explicitly accounts for the counter-tendencies and their time series properties. We find weak evidence of a long-run downward trend in the general profit rate for the U.S. economy for the period 1948-2007. JEL Codes: B51, C22, E11.
Lipoic acid mitigates bisphenol A-induced testicular mitochondrial toxicity in rats
Authors: El-Beshbishy Hesham A , Aly Hamdy A A , El-Shafey Mostafa 
Published: May 2012

Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the highest volume chemicals produced worldwide. BPA is used in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins used in manufacturing plastic baby bottles and lining of food cans. In this study, we investigated the BPA-induced testicular oxidative stress and perturbation of mitochondrial marker enzymes in male albino rats and its amelioration by α-lipoic acid (LA). Rats were administered a dose of BPA (10 mg/kg body weight) orally for 14 days. This resulted in decreased testes weight, total testicular protein content, testicular enzymes such as acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase and decline in activities of marker mitochondrial enzymes such as succinate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, monoamine oxidase and NADH dehydrogenase. The serum testosterone and total antioxidant status were reduced. Besides, it also affected the activities of testicular antioxidant enzymes such as glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase. BPA also caused lipid peroxidation and decrease in reduced glutathione content of mitochondria. The co-administration of LA (20 mg/kg body weight; orally for 14 days) together with BPA resulted in restoration of the mitochondrial marker enzyme activities and increasing enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants of mitochondria. The obtained results demonstrated that LA has a potential role in mitigating BPA-induced mitochondrial toxicity through antioxidant mechanism or by direct free radical scavenging activity.
Rheological and barrier properties of nanocomposites of HDPE and exfoliated montmorillonite
Authors: Horst M Fernanda , Quinzani Lidia M , Failla Marcelo D 
Published: May 2012

Polyethylene (PE)/clay nanocomposites were prepared by melt mixing using PE grafted with maleic anhydride (PEg) as compatibilizer. Concentrations between 2 and 15 wt% of an organophilic montmorillonite (MMT) and concentration ratios of 1:1, 2:1 and 3:1 of PEg/MMT were employed. The materials were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetry. The SEM images show that the presence of PEg results in a large degree of exfoliation at all clay concentrations. For 5 wt% MMT, the best degree of exfoliation is obtained for a 2:1 ratio of PEg/MMT. This ratio results in higher increase in the elastic modulus, mainly at low frequencies, with respect to that of the corresponding matrix. As the clay concentration increases, for a 2:1 ratio of PEg/MMT, the dynamic moduli increase showing pseudo solid-like behavior at clay concentrations higher than 8 wt%. Moreover, the nanocomposites show rheological properties that are affected by annealing at 200°C signaling further exfoliation or improved platelet and tactoid distributions. The oxygen permeability of PE decreases gradually with the clay concentration, reaching a maximum reduction of ∼30% for 15 wt% MMT.
Thermal properties of the polyimide foam prepared from aromatic dianhydride and isocyanate
Authors: Liu Xiao-Yan , Zhan Mao-Sheng , Wang Kai 
Published: May 2012

A new type of polyimide foam (PIF) was prepared successfully based on a one-pot process by the reaction of a first solution and a second solution. The first solution comprised pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA), N, N-dimethyl formamide (DMF), methanol, polyethylene glycol and water. The second solution contained polyaryl polymethylene isocyanate (PAPI). The thermal properties of the polyimide foam were thoroughly investigated by thermogravimetry–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TG–FTIR) and high-resolution pyrolysis gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (PyGC–MS) at various temperatures. The results of TG–FTIR indicated that polyimide foam was thermally stable and experienced a weight loss of less than 2% before the scanning temperature reached 280.7 °C. It showed a two-stage degradation process during the whole decomposition. The major decomposition products were carbon dioxide (CO2), carbonic oxide (CO) and methyl formate. The results of PyGC–MS indicated that no pyrolysis products were indentified when the test temperature was 250 °C. Certain pyrolyzates such as oxygen, carbon dioxide and methyl formate was identified as the pyrolysis temperature increased. According to the degradation behaviors and the structure and relative content of pyrolysis products, a proposed pyrolysis mechanism of polyimide is presented in this article.