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Selected AbstractsStructural Evolution and Copper-Ion Release Behavior of Cu-pHEMA Hybrids Synthesized In Situ,ADVANCED ENGINEERING MATERIALS, Issue 11 2009Yen-Yu Liu Abstract A novel Cu-pHEMA hybrid was successfully prepared by in situ photopolymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) monomer in the presence of Cu(II) copper ions, following an in situ chemical reduction. Experimental observations indicate that intermolecular interactions such as the coupling force and hydrogen bonding between the Cu and the hydroxyl groups further stabilize the hybrid structure to a considerable extent. Localization of the metallic copper particles within the pHEMA network structure as a result of those intermolecular interactions gives rise to the formation of discretely distributed nanocrystallites with particle sizes ranging from 5 to 25,nm in diameter. A crystallographic change of the Cu nanophase from an amorphous-like to a crystalline structure is observed as the H2O:HEMA molar ratio increases, upon synthesis, accompanied with an increase in the particle size. A relatively slow and sustained release of the Cu (in the form of cupric ions) from the hybrids was measured for a time period of about 10 days, which also illustrates a Cu(II)-induced proliferation of the endothelial cells over a relatively small range of release rate of the Cu from the hybrids. Such a new type of Cu-loaded hybrid hydrogel is expected to be compatible and may be considered as a candidate biomaterial for biomedical/therapeutic uses. [source] Redistributive effects of the shift from personal income taxes to indirect taxes: Belgium 1988,93FISCAL STUDIES, Issue 1 2001Andre Decoster Abstract Between 1988 and 1993, the Belgian personal income tax system and the indirect tax system were reformed to a considerable extent. We use microsimulation models to investigate the impact of the reform on the liability progression and the redistributive effect of the combined tax system. The redistributive effect of personal income taxes decreased, notwithstanding an increase in liability progression. For indirect taxes, both the liability regressivity and the reverse redistributive effect have been enhanced. We use recently developed statistical tests to gauge the significance of the observed changes. [source] Governing in the Media Age: The Impact of the Mass Media on Executive Leadership in Contemporary Democracies1GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION, Issue 1 2008Ludger Helms The effects of old and new media on governing and executive leadership have remained curiously under-studied. In the available literature, assessments prevail that consider the media to have developed a strongly power-enhancing effect on incumbent chief executives. A careful reconsideration of mass media effects on the conditions and manifestations of political leadership by presidents and prime ministers in different contemporary democracies suggests that the media more often function as effective constraints on leaders and leadership. Overall, the constraining effects of the traditional media have been more substantial than those generated by the new media. While there are obvious cross-national trends in the development of government,mass media relations, important differences between countries persist, which can be explained to some considerable extent by the different institutional features of contemporary democracies. [source] DNA copy number variation and loss of heterozygosity in relation to recurrence of and survival from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: A reviewHEAD & NECK: JOURNAL FOR THE SCIENCES & SPECIALTIES OF THE HEAD AND NECK, Issue 10 2008Yu Chen PhD Abstract Genetic aberrations, such as DNA copy number variation (CNV) and loss of heterozygosity (LOH), have been implicated in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) initiation and progression. This review examines CNV and LOH as predictors of HNSCC recurrence and mortality. We searched PubMed for relevant publications and compared and discussed results from the articles. Certain CNV and LOH events have consistently been associated with HNSCC recurrence and survival. The recent high-resolution single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays have the potential to identify many more genetic changes and concurrent genome-wide CNV, copy-neutral and/or allelic imbalance LOH in HNSCC that may bear on prognosis. Our review confrms that outcome in HNSCC can be predicted to a considerable extent by the presence of tumor cell genetic aberrations. It points out the limitations of some methodologies that were used in the past and discusses the advantages and challenges of using genome-wide SNP arrays. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 2008 [source] Rebellion in south-western England and the Welsh marches, 1215,17*HISTORICAL RESEARCH, Issue 208 2007Paul Latimer This study attempts a reassessment of the rebellion of 1215,17 in two regions: south-western England and the Welsh marches. After examining the historiography of the 1215,17 conflict and some problems with the evidence, the article deals with the two regions in turn. In the first, the rebellion is found to be somewhat stronger than has been appreciated and to be, to a considerable extent, one of local county communities, rather than of great barons. In the second, the rebellion is seen as much stronger than it has been portrayed, although here the great rebel barons play a significant role. In both regions, the rebellion appears as one directed against an exploitative and intrusive central government and its aggressive curial servants, while also, in the outcome of the rebellion, a degree of common interest between the rebels and baronial loyalists is suggested. Overall, although there are some contrasts between the two regions, the study stresses the elements of a common cause in the rebellion. [source] Samuel Huntington and the Geopolitics of American Identity: The Function of Foreign Policy in America's Domestic Clash of CivilizationsINTERNATIONAL STUDIES PERSPECTIVES, Issue 2 2003Emad El-Din Aysha Abstract The clash of civilizations thesis's true origins lie partly in problems Samuel Huntington sees brewing in his own country. His thesis is to a considerable extent an externalization of these troubles,,an attempt to solve them through international means, while serving U.S. national interests in tandem. As a scholar of American exceptionalism Huntington is,,explicitly and openly,,concerned about the political unity and cultural homogeneity of his country in the absence of the existential threat of world Communism. He sees "multiculturalism" and excessive immigration threatening America's dominant Anglo-Saxon, Protestant, English culture and its libertarian political values. Right-wing "anti-federalism" is threatening the authority and very existence of the federal government, while "commercialism," the elevation of commercial interests above all else among economic and political elites, intensifies the class conflict roots of much anti-federalism. The solution to these myriad problems is a foreign threat, whether real or perceived; hence, the clash of civilizations. [source] Food preferences and the value of animal food for the carabid beetle Amara similata (Gyll.) (Col., Carabidae)JOURNAL OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 9-10 2005S. Fawki Abstract:, Several studies have shown that the mainly granivorous carabid beetles, e.g. Amara spp., include animal food in their diet to a considerable extent. We therefore hypothesized that the performance of these beetles would be enhanced by dietary mixing including both seeds and animal food. In order to test this, we conducted laboratory feeding experiments with adults and larvae of Amara similata. Both adults and larvae were subjected to different diet treatments including: seeds, houseflies, grasshoppers, earthworms, slugs and snails in pure and mixed diets. Larval survival, development time, pupal and teneral weights were used as indicators of food quality for the larvae. For the adult beetles, mass change was used as an indicator of food quality. We found seeds to be high-quality food, while all pure animal diets were of low quality for both adults and larvae. Animal foods added to the seed diet had both positive and negative effects. A mixed diet of all foods enhanced the mass gain of adults compared with the seed diet, but reduced larval performance dramatically. Earthworms and grasshoppers added to seeds increased the pupal and teneral weights, while reduced larval survival. Thus, A. similata is omnivorous with a mainly granivorous feeding habit. It may gain benefits on some fitness parameters and incur costs on others from preying or scavenging on animal food. Therefore, the overall fitness consequences of a mixed seed-animal diet are uncertain. [source] Compliance with the Disclosure Requirements of Germany's New Market: IAS Versus US GAAPJOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & ACCOUNTING, Issue 1 2003Martin Glaum This research examines compliance with both International Accounting Standards (IAS) and United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) for companies listed on Germany's New Market. Based on a sample of 100 firms that apply IAS and 100 that apply US GAAP, we investigate the extent to which companies comply with IAS and US GAAP disclosure requirements in their year,2000 financial statements. Compliance levels range from 100% to 41.6%, with an average of 83.7%. The average compliance level is significantly lower for companies that apply IAS as compared to companies applying US GAAP. This study provides the first systematic evidence regarding the enforcement of US GAAP outside the US, and accordingly not subject to Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) review. The results unveil a considerable extent of non,compliance. The overall level of compliance with IAS and US GAAP disclosures is positively related to firms being audited by Big 5 auditing firms and to cross,listings on US exchanges. Compliance is also associated with references to the use of International Standards of Auditing (ISA) or US GAAS in the audit opinion. The findings add to the growing concerns regarding the lack of effective supervision in the German capital market. [source] A critical assessment of the suitability of phosphite as a source of phosphorusJOURNAL OF PLANT NUTRITION AND SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 6 2009Arne M. Ratjen Abstract Marketing of phosphite-containing preparations for foliar application, together with recent reports of positive yield responses, has revived the question as to whether phosphite (HPO) is a suitable P source for plants. Two experiments using zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L. convar. giromontina) have been conducted to evaluate the P-nutritional effect of phosphite either provided via the substrate or as a foliar spray. Plants grown in a P-deficient substrate were severely damaged when phosphite was applied as foliar fertiliser and more drastically when provided via the substrate. Growth of P-deficient plants receiving phosphite as a foliar spray was impaired in a dose-dependent manner after foliar P application (concentrations 0.0, 0.9, 2.7, and 4.5 g P L,1), while foliar provision of phosphate improved plant growth and yield. In the youngest leaves of phosphite-treated plants, which had developed after foliar spray, phosphite accumulated to considerable extent, reaching a similar concentration as phosphate at tissue level. These results confirm that P-deficient plants are very sensitive to phosphite, which represents a nutritionally ineffective form of P. It should thus not be considered as a form of P suitable for fertiliser manufacture. [source] MODERN SOVEREIGNTY IN QUESTION: THEOLOGY, DEMOCRACY AND CAPITALISMMODERN THEOLOGY, Issue 4 2010ADRIAN PABST This essay argues that modern sovereignty is not simply a legal or political concept that is coterminous with the modern nation-state. Rather, at the theoretical level modern sovereign power is inscribed into a wider theological dialectic between "the one" and "the many". Modernity fuses juridical-constitutional models of supreme state authority with a new, "biopolitical" account of power whereby natural life and the living body of the individual are the object of politics and are subject to state control (section 1). The origins of this dialectic go back to changes within Christian theology in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. In particular, these changes can be traced to Ockham's denial of the universal Good in things, Suárez's priority of the political community over the ecclesial body and Hobbes's "biopolitical" definition of power as state dominion over life (section 2). At the practical level, modern sovereignty has involved both the national state and the transnational market. The "revolutions in sovereignty" that gave rise to the modern state and the modern market were to some considerable extent shaped by theological concepts and changes in religious institutions and practices: first, the supremacy of the modern national state over the transnational papacy and national churches; second, the increasing priority of individuality over collectivity; third, a growing focus on contractual proprietary relations at the expense of covenantal ties and communal bonds (section 3). By subjecting both people and property to uniform standards of formal natural rights and abstract monetary value, financial capitalism and liberal secular democracy are part of the "biopolitical" logic that subordinates the sanctity of life and land to the secular sacrality of the state and the market. In Pope Benedict's theology, we can find the contours of a post-secular political economy that challenges the monopoly of modern sovereignty (sections 4,5). [source] Educating general practitioners about prenatal testing: approaches and challengesPRENATAL DIAGNOSIS, Issue 7 2005Sylvia Metcalfe Abstract Objectives To examine the effects of an education intervention on the knowledge and practice behaviours of general practitioners (GPs) regarding prenatal screening and diagnostic testing in Melbourne, Australia. Methods A single group, pre-test, repeated post-test design was used. Information on demographics, knowledge, behaviours and skills was collected via a self-administered questionnaire prior to the educational intervention. Responses to individual questions were coded and scores calculated, as well as a percent total score. Following the education, data were again collected, immediately afterwards (Post-Q) and six-to-eight months later (Foll-Q). Results Data for all three time points were collected from 63 GPs and showed a variable, and relatively poor knowledge regarding aspects of prenatal testing, especially before education. The percent mean total score at baseline was 51.2 ± 1.59% (CI 48.02 to 54.39), which increased significantly (p < 0.001) in both Post-Q (62.88 ± 1.51%; CI 59.86 to 65.89) and Foll-Q (58.92 ± 1.6%; CI 55.71 to 62.12). Conclusion The educational intervention significantly increased knowledge and practice behaviour of GPs, even up to eight months later, but this could be improved further, to a considerable extent. There is a need for ongoing multi-faceted approaches to educating GPs on prenatal testing to ensure that they are engaged in appropriate practice. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Determination of wheat quality by mass spectrometry and multivariate data analysisRAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 21 2002David Mark Gottlieb Multivariate analysis has been applied as support to proteome analysis in order to implement an easier and faster way of data handling based on separation by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The characterisation phase in proteome analysis by means of simple visual inspection is a demanding process and also insecure because subjectivity is the controlling element. Multivariate analysis offers, to a considerable extent, objectivity and must therefore be regarded as a neutral way to evaluate results obtained by proteome analysis. Proteome analysis of storage proteins from the wheat gluten complex based on two-dimensional electrophoresis and analysis of the N-terminal sequence has revealed a protein homologous to ,-gliadins, tentatively associated with quality and within the molecular weight range 27,35,kDa. Further examinations of gliadin data based on mass spectrometry revealed that quality among wheat varieties could be determined by means of principal component analysis. Further examinations by interval partial least squares made it possible to encircle an overall optimal molecular weight interval from 31.5 to 33.7,kDa. The use of multivariate analysis on data from mass spectrometry has thus shown to be a promising technique to minimize the number of two-dimensional gels within the field of proteome analysis. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Bioethics: Power and Injustice: Iab Presidential AddressBIOETHICS, Issue 5-6 2003Solomon R. Benatar ABSTRACT A major focus within the modern bioethics debate has been on reshaping power relationships within the doctor,patient relationship. Empowerment of the vulnerable has been achieved through an emphasis on human rights and respect for individual dignity. However, power imbalances remain pervasive within healthcare. To a considerable extent this relates to insufficient attention to social injustice. Such power imbalances together with the development of new forms of power, for example through new genetic biotechnology, raise the spectre of increasing social injustice. Attention will be drawn to the need to extend the bioethics debate to include ethical considerations regarding public health. Changes in political philosophy will also be required to reshape international power relations and improve population health. [source] Patterns of Floristic Differentiation among Atlantic Forests in Southeastern Brazil and the Influence of Climate,BIOTROPICA, Issue 4b 2000Ary T. Oliveira-Filho ABSTRACT The tree flora of southeastern Brazilian Atlantic forests was investigated according to two main aspects: (a) the variations in floristic composition of bodi rain and semi-deciduous forests were analyzed in terms of geographic and climatic variables by performing multivariate analyses on 125 existing floristic checklists; and (b) the links of both rain and semi-deciduous forests to Amazonian forests and Cerrados (woody savanna) were assessed. All analyses were performed at the species, genus, and family levels. The information obtained for the 125 forest areas was organized into an environmental database containing geographic and climatic records, and a floristic database containing binary presence records for 2532 species, 520 genera, and 106 families. Canonical correspondence analyses (CCA) were utilized to assess the relationship between geographic and climatic variables, and tree flora composition. Venn diagrams and cluster analyses were used to assess the floristic links to Amazonian forests and Cerrados. The following patterns were detected at all three taxonomic levels: (a) the differentiation between rain and semi-deciduous forests is floristically consistent and strongly correlated with rainfall regime, although transitions may be abrupt to gradual; (b) a north,south differentiation exists for both rain and semi-deciduous forests, probably caused by variations in both temperature and rainfall regime; (c) The flora of semi-deciduous forests also changes with increasing distance from the ocean and the associated increasing rainfall seasonality; and (d) elevation and associated temperatures are strongly correlated with the internal differentiation of both rain and semi-deciduous forests. To a considerable extent, the tree flora of semi-deciduous forests is a subset of the rain forest flora, probably extracting species that are able to cope with a longer dry season. There is greater floristic similarity at the species level between Atlantic rain and semi-deciduous forests than between any of these and either Amazonian rain forests or Cerrados. Nevertheless, semi-deciduous forests and Cerrados show stronger links, particularly at the generic and familial levels. Therefore, rhere is little floristic ground for viewing Atlantic rain forests as being closer to their Amazonian counterparts than to the adjacent semi-deciduous forests. The most appropriate view of rain and semi-deciduous forests in southeastern Brazil is that of a continuum in tree species distribution. We suggest that the definition of Atlantic forests should be as comprehensive as that of Amazonian forests. RESUMO A flora arbórea das florestas Atlãnticas do sudeste do Brasil é investigada sob dois aspectos principals: (a) as varia¸ões em composi¸ão florística de florestas ombrófilas e semidecíduas são analisadas sob a ótica de variáveis geográficas e climáticas por meio de análises multivariadas de 125 listagens florísticas existentes na literatura; e (b) os la¸os das florestas ombrófilas e semidecíduas com as florestas Amazõnicas e cerrados são avaliados. Todas análises foram feitas nos níveis de espécie, gênero e família. A informa¸ão obtida para as 125 áreas de floresta foi organizada em um banco de dados ambientais, contendo registros geográficos e climáticos, e um banco de dados florísticos, contendo registros binários de presen¸a para 2532 espécies, 520 gêneros e 106 famílias. Análises de correspondência canõnica (ACC) foram utilizadas para avaliar as rela¸ões entre variáveis geográficas e climáticas e a composi¸ão da flora arbórea. Diagramas de Venn e análises de agrupamento foram utilizados para avaliar os la¸os florísticos com florestas Amazõnicas e cerrados. Os seguintes padrões foram detectados para todos os níveis taxonõmicos: (a) A diferencia¸ão entre florestas ombrófilas e semidecíduas é floristicamente consistente e fortemente correlacionada com o regime de chuvas, embora as transi¸ões possam ser abruptas a graduais; (b) Há uma diferencia¸ão norte-sul tanto para florestas ombrófilas como semidecíduas, provavelmente causada por varia¸ões em temperatura e regime de chuvas; (c) A flora das florestas semidecíduas também muda com a distãncia do oceano e o correspondente aumento da dura¸ão da esta¸ão seca; e (d) Altitude e suas correspondentes varia¸ões de temperatura são fortemente correlacionadas com a diferencia¸ão interna tanto das florestas ombrófilas como semidecíduas. A flora arbórea das florestas semidecíduas é, em boa medida, um sub-conjunto da flora das florestas ombrófilas, provavelmente extraindo espécies capazes de enfrentar uma esta¸ão seca mais prolongada. Há mais similaridade florística, no nível de espécies, entre florestas Atlãnticas ombrófilas e semidecíduas do que entre qualquer destas e as florestas Amazõnicas, ou mesmo os cerrados. No entanto, florestas semidecíduas e cerrados mostram la¸os florísticos mais fortes, particularmente nos níveis de gênero e família. Portanto, há pouco fundamento florístico para se pensar nas florestas ombrófilas Atlãnticas como mais próximas de suas correspondentes Amazõnicas do que de suas vizinhas semidecíduas. A abordagem mais correta para florestas ombrófilas e semidecíduas do sudeste brasileiro é de um contínue de distribui¸ão de espécies. Sugerimos, portanto, que a defini¸ão de florestas Atlãnticas deve ser tão abrangente quanto a das florestas Amazõnicas. [source] Work Pressure in Europe 1996,2001: Trends and DeterminantsBRITISH JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 3 2005Duncan Gallie Diverse theories have predicted a trend towards growing work pressure in advanced capitalist societies, while pointing to quite distinct causal factors. This paper seeks to assess these arguments using data from two surveys of employees in European Union member-states carried out in 1996 and in 2001. It finds there is no evidence of a trend towards higher work pressure over this period. There is, however, support for some of the main arguments about the types of factors that affect work pressure: for instance, skill, job control, new technology and current job security are clearly important. But the trends in job control and job security have not been those predicted, while changes in another major determinant , the length of working hours , have tended to reduce work pressure. There are substantial and relatively stable differences in work pressure between countries, but to a considerable extent, these reflect compositional differences with respect to the main determinants of work pressure. [source] Synthesis, characterization and application of soluble fullerenated polymer materialsCHINESE JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY, Issue 5 2000Yu Chen Abstract This article only deals with the topic of intense interest to us and to a considerable extent of our own experimental results on the synthesis, characterization and application of C60 -containing functional polymers such as poly(N -vinylcarbazole), polystyrene and polyacrylonitrile-based fullerene polymers. The results demonstrate that [60]fullerene and be directly incorporated into a variety of functional polymers by copolymerization or grafting, but also can be used to modify or improve the electronic, optical and physicochemical properties of polymers. Both the stereo-electroniceffect and me steric hindrance of C60 have an important influence on the structure and physicochemical properties of the parent polymer. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||