bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Globalisation of Macrobiotics as Culinary Tourism and Culinary Nostalgia
Authors: Stalker Nancy 
Published: June 2011

AbstractThis article examines the malleable identity of the macrobiotic diet, a largely vegetarian regime focused on brown rice and traditional Japanese foods, popularly known as a diet that could cure diseases, including cancer. It argues that the historical and geographical context of macrobiotics helped determine its appeal, i.e. initial interest in the West was driven by a sense of ‘culinary tourism’ while Japanese contemporary interest in macrobiotics is informed by a sense of ‘culinary nostalgia.’
The Ties that Bind: Pregnancy and the Persistence of Tradition in Contemporary Japan
Authors: Seaman Amanda C. 
Published: June 2011

AbstractThis article explores the meaning and use in Japan of the hara obi (belly band), first attested in the eighth-century chronicle Kojiki, tracing its changing medical, religious, ritual, and literary significance up to the present day. While some Tokugawa-era doctors disparaged the hara obi’s medical value, it continued to play a role in prenatal care which continues today, a role enhanced by its function as a religious talisman and an object of folk tradition. This complex of effective and affective meanings has contributed to the hara obi’s survival alongside modern birth technology, a survival chronicled and reflected upon by contemporary Japanese women’s writing on pregnancy and childbirth.
‘Knowing the Why but not the How’: A Dilemma in Contemporary Chinese Medicine
Authors: Wang Jun 
Published: June 2011

AbstractThis paper explores how modernisation of Chinese medicine has transformed Chinese medicine doctors, as they like to say, from ‘knowing the how but not the why’ to ‘knowing the why but not the how.’ Through unfolding the multi-faceted connotations and associations of these proverbial formulas in the Chinese medicine field, we show the inevitable dilemma troubling many Chinese medicine doctors, who feel they are stuck between the institutional demands of catching up with the latest scientific knowledge and continuing the eminently effective features of Chinese medicine in practice. The crisis of ‘knowing the why but not the how’ demonstrates that, despite rather thoroughgoing scientisation, there are continuing conflicts between the modes of knowing characteristic of Chinese medicine and modern science, which result from the assumed hierarchy of knowing.
Korean Anatomical Charts in the Context of the East Asian Medical Tradition
Authors: Kim Yuseok , Dongwon Shin 
Published: June 2011

Abstract
This paper examines the characteristics of the illustrations in Heo Jun’s
Dong’ui’bo’gam (Treasured Collections of an Eastern Physician), which are
the sole distinctively Korean pictorial representations in the history of
Korean medical texts. Those anatomical images differ from earlier East Asian
anatomical charts in three important ways. First, they embody the view that
Daoist practices for preserving health and vitality (yangsheng) are closer
to the essence of life than is medicine. Second, unlike existing medical
texts, which mainly focused on the organs inside the body and the channels
on the surface of the body, they emphasise building up systematic outer
‘bodily form’. Third, they reflect Heo Jun’s regard for the anatomical
content of the earlier Inner Canon and the Classic of Difficulties rather
than the contributions of positivistic anatomy from and after the Song and
Yuan Dynasties, and the diagrams of the five zang- organs are devised in
accord with such a view. In my view, these three points in Treasured
Collections of an Eastern Physician (hereafter Treasured Collection), the
most influential medical book since its publication, provides clues to
understanding the very conservative character of traditional Korean medicine
in the seventeenth century and thereafter.
Corruption and the Rule of Law in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Yeh Stuart S. 
Published: June 2011

AbstractThe World Bank and IMF attribute underdevelopment in sub-Saharan Africa to the practice of directing economic activity through centralized planning. They prescribe privatization and economic liberalization to restructure African economies, promote competition, reduce the scope for corruption, and promote good governance. However, inadequate checks on political power permit African elites to subvert these reforms. This article reviews the political economy of sub-Saharan countries as well as a case study of Sierra Leone to illustrate the problem. The analysis suggests the need for an international agency such as the UN to provide the capacity to investigate, expose and check corruption by employing UN inspectors who are immune to pressure from powerful African elites. This type of check on corruption is necessary to promote the rule of law in sub-Saharan Africa.
Four Views of the Citadel: The Consequential Distinction between Secularity and Secularism
Authors: Scharffs Brett G. 
Published: June 2011

AbstractIn this article I want to suggest that there is an important, perhaps critical, distinction between secularity and secularism—in particular, that one concept is a fundamental component of liberal pluralism and a bastion against religious extremism, and that the other is a misguided, even dangerous, ideology that may degenerate into its own dystopian fundamentalism. As a means of advancing this suggestion, I propose to view the distinction between secularity and secularism from four vantage points, each of which I will call a view of the citadel.
Public administration PhD programmes in Italy: comparing different disciplinary approaches
Authors: Cepiku Denita 
Published: June 2011

PhD programmes in public administration (PA), although contributing to the development of the human side of the public sector and being responsible for the production of the producers of knowledge, are less investigated than other levels of education. Recent comparative research ascribes differences to the countries’ administrative cultures. The article aims at reviewing the ‘state of play’ of PA doctoral education in Italy, building on the hypothesis that differences in the nature, direction and intensity of change are also influenced by the different disciplinary approaches. The primary source of evidence is semi-structured interviews with the directors of 14 PhD programmes representing different disciplines, conducted from January to May 2010. Common challenges include the insufficient and unpredictable funding, the small scale problem, the pressure to internationalize and the lack of interdisciplinarity. The article argues that major differences exist among disciplines in terms of international openness and related strategies, relevance of curricula training and collaboration strategies. The survey provides a first evaluation of past reforms and raises some open issues: PhDs in PA are now characterized by more structured programmes that are held back by their small size; collaboration strategies are emerging although they are hindered by administrative burdens and autarchic behaviour. Points for practitioners The results have several policy and operational implications: they provide benchmark information to PA PhD directors on the state of the art of the strategies adopted to cope with current and future challenges. Having adopted the disciplinary rather than the country focus makes the conclusions potentially relevant also for other countries. Doctoral programmes (and doctorate holders) are increasingly considering the wider job market. For PhD programmes in PA this will require more attention to the public sector needs and the establishment of different forms of cooperation. On the other hand, in the public sector, attempts should be made to make the most of people holding doctoral degrees. Furthermore, as ‘the world of practice has crept into the inner sanctum of academia: doctoral research’ (Pollitt, 2006: 258), public managers attending PhD programmes (or willing to do so) may find interesting insights on the types and expected developments of doctoral education according to the different disciplines. Finally, the survey offers useful indications to policy-makers and public managers engaged in the reform of the higher education.
Differences in emotional intelligence between effective and ineffective leaders in the public sector: an empirical study
Authors: Kotzé Martina , Venter Ian 
Published: June 2011

The literature supporting leadership as the most important factor related to organizational success or failure is burgeoning. To a large extent, this may explain why so much research focuses on factors influencing leadership effectiveness. A crucial aspect of leadership research is to determine why some individuals perform effectively in leadership roles while others demonstrate mediocre or low levels of effectiveness. Once measures of individual characteristics have been validated within a relevant context, they become useful sources of information for selecting, placing, and promoting people into leadership positions. The aim of this study was to determine if there are statistically significant differences in emotional intelligence between effective and ineffective leaders. The sample included 114 leaders at the middle management level in a public sector institution in South Africa. Each leader’s effectiveness was rated by themselves (self-rating), as well as by four subordinates, thus involving 570 participants. The EQ-i® was used as a measure of emotional intelligence, while Spangenberg and Theron’s Leadership Behaviour Inventory was used to determine leadership effectiveness. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated that the effective leaders scored significantly higher on the total emotional intelligence measure. They also scored significantly higher on two emotional intelligence composite scales (Interpersonal EQ and Stress Management EQ) and six sub-scales (Self-actualization, Empathy, Social Responsibility, Stress Tolerance, Problem-solving, and Optimism). Points for practitioners The relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership effectiveness seems to warrant organizational consideration of the possible inclusion of emotional intelligence, among other competencies, as a selection and promotion criterion for future leaders. Job analyses and the subsequent identification of job competencies can be used in order to determine, among others, the emotional intelligence requirements of specific leadership tasks, duties, and behaviours at different managerial levels within the organization. Based on such predetermined criteria, valid measures of emotional intelligence could be included as part of the selection and promotion process, along with other desirable individual attributes, such as verbal and numerical abilities, personality attributes, and specific managerial and leadership competencies required for effective leadership specifically within public sector institutions. Leadership development courses may also include programmes to develop emotional intelligence competencies. Potential candidates nominated to attend these courses could be equipped with a vital understanding of their own emotional functioning as well as an awareness of their influence on their followers. The continuous provision of feedback, mentoring, and modelling is also a key consideration in the development of emotional intelligence.
Supramolecular Spherical β-Cyclodextrin32-dendrimer: Inclusion Properties and Supramolecular Structure
Authors: Takashima Yoshinori , Oka Tatsuhiko , Yoshida Shogo , Yamaguchi Hiroyasu , Harada Akira 
Published: June 2011

Abstract
G3-6βCD32, which has 32 β-cyclodextrins functionalized on the surface of a polyamidoamine dendrimer, was prepared as a multivalent host molecule. G3-6βCD32 showed selective recognition behaviors for guest polymers. Using guest recognition sites on the surface, a supramolecular bilayer sphere was prepared in aqueous solutions. The molecular recognition properties and structure of G3-6βCD32 are reminiscent of a virus structure.
Regioselective Approach to Multisubstituted Benzenes
Authors: Seo Hana , Ohmori Ken , Suzuki Keisuke 
Published: June 2011

Abstract
Various multisubstituted benzenes were synthesized in highly chemo- and regioselective manners via nucleophilic aromatic substitution and ortho-metalation from 1,3,5-trifluorobenzene.
Removal of Ruthenium from Aqueous Solution by Clinoptilolite
Authors: Kabiri-Tadi Mahboobeh , Faghihian Hossein 
Published: June 2011

AbstractRuthenium compounds are highly toxic and carcinogenic. In the present study, clinoptilolite was used in the removal of Ru species from aqueous solutions. Clinoptilolite is a good choice of sorbents because it is naturally abundant and therefore cheap. After the process where Ru was removed from the aqueous solution, the clinoptilolite was characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, thermogravimetric analysis, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy techniques. The influence of pH, contact time, and temperature on the adsorption of Ru was investigated and the optimum conditions were found to be 2 h of contact time and pH = 2. Pseudo first-order, pseudo second-order, Elovich, and intra-particle diffusion models were used to analyze the adsorption-rate data. The pseudo second-order model was found to be the best kinetics model in terms of matching the experimental results obtained. Adsorption isotherms were constructed to assess the maximum adsorption capacity of clinoptilolite. The Langmuir model fitted the data reasonably well in terms of regression coefficients. Adsorption studies were also performed at different temperatures to calculate the thermodynamic parameters. The numerical value of ΔG0 decreased with increasing temperature, indicating that adsorption is favored at higher temperatures. The positive values of ΔH0 corresponded to the endothermic nature of the adsorption processes. The proposed method of removal is applicable at an industrial scale.
Character and Amount of I-S Mixed-Layer Minerals and Physical-Chemical Parameters of Two Ceramic Clays from Westerwald, Germany: Implications for Processing Properties
Authors: Petrick Kerstin , Diedel Ralf , Peuker Miriam , Dieterle Matthias , Kuch Paul , Kaden René , Krolla-Sidenstein Peter , Schuhmann Rainer , Emmerich Katja 
Published: June 2011

AbstractThe industrial assessment of ceramic clays commonly consists of the determination of just two parameters, the particle-size distribution and the chemical composition; other parameters may also be important, however. The aim of the present study was to show that a careful determination of the mineralogical phase content provides valuable additional information on the processing behavior of ceramic clays.Two ceramic clays (W1 andW2) from theWesterwald area, Germany, were evaluated as being the same with respect to industrial screening criteria, but showed different processing properties. In order to elucidate the different behaviors, both clays were investigated comprehensively using a multi-method approach combining physical-chemical and mineralogical methods.Different aggregation characteristics for the two clays were revealed by determining the grain-size distribution with and without Na-pyrophosphate as a dispersant. In addition, W1 showed a greater electrical conductivity and soluble-salt concentration which promoted dispersion behavior.The phase content was identified both for bulk materials and for several grain-size fractions by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Rietveld analysis. The quantitative phase content was crosschecked with the chemical composition by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis. Additional information was gathered by thermal analysis, cation exchange capacity (CEC) measurements, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and optical microscopy. While bulk samples of W1 and W2 showed nearly the same mineralogical and chemical compositions, investigation of the clay-size fractions (0.6–2 μm, <0.6 mm) revealed differences in the composition of the 2:1 layer silicates. The percentages of smectite in the mixed-layer I-S, as well as the amount of kaolinite, discrete illite, and smectite were determined by one-dimensional XRD profile fitting (ODPF). Best-fitting results for W1 were achieved for a physical mixture of an illite-rich I-S mixed-layer mineral (R3 I(0.9)-S) with discrete smectite, whereas W2 was characterized by a greater proportion of smectite in the mixed-layer (R1 I(0.8)-S), without discrete smectite. Based on the different structural features of the swellable clays, a qualitative delamination model for the 2:1 layer silicates during processing of the clays was derived. The model provides a further approach, aside from aggregation characteristics, to help understand the clay-processing behavior, which was found to be different for the two ceramic clays investigated.
Mineralogical and Geochemical Properties of the Na- and Ca-Bentonites of Ordu (Ne Turkey)
Authors: Karakaya Muazzez Çelik , Karakaya Necati , Küpeli Şuayip 
Published: June 2011

AbstractA number of different types of bentonite deposits formed by hydrothermal alteration and diagenetic processes are to be found in the Ordu area of the Eastern Black Sea region. The Ca- and Na-bentonite deposits are related to Upper Cretaceous tholeitic to calc-alkaline volcanites, predominantly dacite and andesite, and also include rhyodacite with lesser basalt and their pyroclastic equivalents. In the present study, dacite (PR1), perlite (PR2), moderately altered rocks (MPR), and Na- and Ca-bentonites were studied to describe and compare their mineralogical and geochemical properties and their conditions of formation by means of X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and chemical analytical techniques.Ca-bentonites, except for smectite, contain opal-CT, feldspar, biotite, and rarely pyrite, while Na-bentonites contain smectite and less feldspar, opal-CT, kaolinite, and illite.Progressive alteration of the PR2 caused depletion in K2O and Na2O and enrichment in MgO and CaO in all of the Ca-bentonite samples. Na2O was depleted in all of the Na-bentonites and in most of the MPR. The medium and heavy rare earth elements (MREE and HREE) show mass gain or mass loss in the Na-bentonites. The HREE show nearly immobile behavior in the Ca-bentonites. The rare earth elements (REE) and transition elements (TRE) mostly gained mass in the Ca-bentonites in contrast to Na-bentonites. Large-ion lithophile elements (LILE) are strongly depleted in all of the bentonites. The LREE, MREE, and HREE were strongly depleted in most of the MPR samples. TiO2, Lu, Tm, and Tb show immobile behavior in all samples.PR1 exhibits a slightly positive Eu anomaly. Two MPR samples show slightly positive Eu anomalies (1.03, 1.13), and one Na-bentonite sample displays a slightly positive Eu anomaly (1.04). Most of the Nabentonites have weakly negative Eu anomalies, whereas perlite and the Ca-bentonite have a strongly negative Eu anomaly. The PR1, PR2, MPR, and Na-bentonite present a positive Ce anomaly, and the Ca-bentonite shows a moderately negative Ce anomaly. The Ca-montmorillonites are mainly hydrothermal in origin and derived from alteration of volcanoclastic material in situ and/or in the subaerial environment. The Na-montmorillonites formed by alteration and diagenesis of volcanoclastic material in the sedimentary basin.
Beta-amyloid oligomers: recent developments
Authors: Borutaite Vilmante , Morkuniene Ramune , Valincius Gintaras 
Published: June 2011

AbstractRecent studies point to a critical role of soluble β-amyloid oligomers in the pathogenesis of one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer's disease (AD). Beta-amyloid peptides are cleavage products of a ubiquitously expressed protein, the amyloid precursor protein. Early studies suggested that accumulation of extracellular β-amyloid aggregates are the most toxic species causing synaptic dysfunction and neuronal loss in particular regions of the brain (neurobiological features underlying cognitive decline of the AD patients). In recent years, a shift of pardigm occurred, and now there is accumulating evidence that soluble oligomeric forms of the peptide are the most toxic to neuronal cells. In this review, we discuss recent findings on the toxic effects of amyloid-β oligomers, their physico-chemical properties and the possible pathways of their formationin vitroandin vivo.
Performance of the Roche Total Mycophenolic Acid® assay on the Cobas Integra 400®, Cobas 6000® and comparison to LC-MS/MS in liver transplant patients
Authors: Decavele An-Sofie C. , Favoreel Niels , Heyden Fien Vander , Verstraete Alain G. 
Published: June 2011

Abstract

Background: Mycophenolic acid (MPA) is an immunosuppressant for which therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is performed for optimal prophylaxis and avoidance of toxicity in transplant patients. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is ideally suited for TDM of MPA. There have been several method comparisons of the Roche Total MPA assay, but none have been performed with respect to liver transplant patients.

Methods: We validated the Roche Total MPA assay on the Cobas Integra 400 and Cobas 6000 and compared it to a validated LC-MS/MS (API 2000™) method. Fifty-five EDTA plasma samples from liver transplant patients were measured with the Roche assay on these platforms and compared to the LC-MS/MS results.

Results: Validation of the LC-MS/MS, Cobas Integra 400 and 6000 was performed with good results. The LC-MS/MS/Integra 400/Cobas 6000 were linear up to 30, 15 and 17 mg/L, respectively. Imprecision was <10% for LC-MS/MS and <7% for the Roche assay on both platforms. The samples showed good agreement with LC-MS/MS. Passing-Bablok regression analysis showed Cobas Integra (mg/L)=1.02×LC-MS/MS (mg/L)–0.50 and Cobas 6000 (mg/L)=0.98×LC-MS/MS–0.47.

Conclusions: The Roche Total Mycophenolic Acid-assay is suitable for measuring total MPA in plasma from liver transplant patients and is a good alternative for LC-MS/MS.
Alterations of the preoperative coagulation profile in patients with acute appendicitis
Authors: Li Jianxin , Liu Yan , Yin Weihua , Zhang Chuanzhou , Huang Jinhe , Liao Chaoyu , Nie Liping , Zhou Yu , Xiao Ping 
Published: June 2011

AbstractBackground:Acute appendicitis (AA) is usually associated with a systemic inflammatory response that often leads to activation of coagulation. However, limited data about coagulation changes in AA are available.Methods:Results of preoperative coagulation testing in 702 patients with confirmed AA and 697 patients undergoing minor elective surgery (control) during the same period were analyzed retrospectively. Coagulation activity of factors VII, IX (FVII:C, FIX:C) and the concentration of plasma endotoxin from 40 patients with AA and 15 control subjects were measured.Results:Compared with control subjects, prothrombin time (PT), fibrinogen (Fib) and endotoxin increased (all p<0.01), FVII:C decreased (p<0.05), and thrombin time shortened (p<0.01) significantly in patients with AA, which showed trends with increasing severity of disease. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve of Fib for discriminating complicated appendicitis or acute perforated appendicitis from enrolled patients were larger than those for leukocyte parameters. The concentration of endotoxin correlated negatively with FVII:C (r=−0.860, p<0.001), positively with PT (0.713, <0.001), and FVII:C negatively with PT (−0.729, <0.001) in individuals that were evaluated. The change in activated partial thromboplastin time and difference in FIX:C among patients with various pathological types of appendicitis were not significant.Conclusions:Endotoxin-induced activation of the extrinsic coagulation pathway was present in patients with AA. Fib may be useful as a potential indicator for excluding complicated appendicitis.