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Era
Kinds of Era Selected AbstractsNoncontact Operational Modal Analysis of Structural Members by Laser Doppler VibrometerCOMPUTER-AIDED CIVIL AND INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING, Issue 4 2009Dionysius M. Siringoringo The system employs natural excitation technique (NExT) to generate the cross-correlation functions from laser signals, and the eigensystem realization algorithm (ERA) to identify modal parameters of structural members. To facilitate simultaneous modal identification, time-synchronization technique and construction of cross-correlation functions from ambient response of laser signals are proposed. Performance of the proposed system is verified experimentally by evaluating the consistency and accuracy of identification results in different measurement conditions. The work presented here is an extension of the previous study, where a modal-based damage detection method using LDV was formulated. In the present study, application of LDV for structural parameters identification of a combined dynamical system is proposed. A model that represents the connection properties in terms of additional stiffness and damping is developed, and its importance for structural damage detection is discussed. The study shows that the presence of simulated damage in a steel connection can be detected by tracking the modal phase difference and by quantifying the additional stiffness and damping. [source] GUNS AND OIL: AN ANALYSIS OF CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS TRADE IN THE POST-COLD WAR ERAECONOMIC INQUIRY, Issue 2 2010NEHA KHANNA This paper analyzes the global conventional weapons trade between 1989 and 1999. We postulate that a key reason for the huge transfer of weapons to the Persian Gulf region is the enormous value of the oil wealth there along with the dependence of Western economies on access to the relatively cheap and steady supply of crude oil. We find a strong, positive, and robust empirical association between arms trade and crude oil trade and explain it as the result of a target price band arrangement that was responsible for the remarkably stable crude oil prices during our study period. (JEL F10, F59, Q38) [source] DEWEYAN DARWINISM FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: TOWARD AN EDUCATIONAL METHOD FOR CRITICAL DEMOCRATIC ENGAGEMENT IN THE ERA OF THE INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION SCIENCESEDUCATIONAL THEORY, Issue 3 2008Deborah Seltzer-Kelly Early in the twentieth century, John Dewey also advocated for a vision of education guided by science, and more recent scholarship has validated many of his ideas. However, as Deborah Seltzer-Kelly argues in this essay, Dewey's vision of a scientifically based system of education was very different from that envisioned by the IES, and also very different from that implied by the progenitor of contemporary evolutionary thought, Donald Campbell. Seltzer-Kelly proposes a Deweyan Darwinist model of educational method as a genuinely scientific alternative to the scientism that pervades current official efforts to imbue education with science. The implications of this model are profound, highlighting the difference between education as preparation for consent to authoritarian structures and education as preparation for genuinely democratic participation. [source] FROM REVOLUTION TO MODERNIZATION: THE PARADIGMATIC TRANSITION IN CHINESE HISTORIOGRAPHY IN THE REFORM ERAHISTORY AND THEORY, Issue 3 2010HUAIYIN LI ABSTRACT Chinese historiography of modern China in the 1980s and 1990s underwent a paradigmatic transition: in place of the traditional revolutionary historiography that bases its analyses on Marxist methodologies and highlights rebellions and revolutions as the overarching themes in modern Chinese history, the emerging modernization paradigm builds its conceptual framework on borrowed modernization theory and foregrounds top-down, incremental reforms as the main force propelling China's evolution to modernity. This article scrutinizes the origins of the new paradigm in the context of a burgeoning modernization discourse in reform-era China. It further examines the fundamental divides between the two types of historiography in their respective constructions of master narratives and their different approaches to representing historical events in modern China. Behind the prevalence of the modernization paradigm in Chinese historiography is Chinese historians' unchanged commitment to serving present political needs by interpreting the past. [source] Union recognition in Britain's offshore oil and gas industry: implications of the Employment Relations Act 1999INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL, Issue 4 2004Charles Woolfson ABSTRACT The Employment Relations Act 1999 (ERA) has provided trade unions in the UK with new opportunities for achieving recognition. After a long history of anti-unionism in the offshore oil and gas industry, employers have voluntarily ceded recognition to Trades Union Congress (TUC)-affiliated trade unions. The legitimacy of this recognition process has been contested by the non-TUC Offshore Industry Liaison Committee (OILC), an offshore workers' union, seeking to act as a recognised bargaining agent. The ERA may be promoting ,business friendly' agreements at the expense of claims to recognition of other bargaining agents and of democratic employee choice. [source] The effects of early relational antecedents and other factors on the parental sensitivity of mothers and fathersINFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2003Diane Pelchat Abstract This study examines the effect of early relational antecedents (ERA, i.e. the quality of parenting parents recalled receiving as children), parenting stress, marital stress, socio-economic factors and children's characteristics (gender and disability condition) on the parental sensitivity of mothers and fathers. The sample consisted of 116 mothers and 84 fathers of 117 eighteen month old children drawn from a larger longitudinal study on the adaptation of parents to a child with a disability. Thirty-four children were diagnosed with Down syndrome (DS), 51 with a cleft lip and/or palate (CLP), and 32 were non-disabled children. Multiple regression analyses reveal that mothers' sensitivity is best predicted by her level of education and family income, whereas fathers' sensitivity is best predicted by their ERA, marital stress, family income and the child's disability condition. Mothers with more education and a greater family income displayed a greater sensitivity to their children, as did fathers who perceive less marital stress, those with a greater family income and those who perceived their parents as less controlling. Also, fathers of children with DS displayed less sensitivity for their children than fathers of children with CLP or fathers of non-disabled children. These results concord with many studies about the importance of socio-economic factors, ERA, marital stress, parent's gender and children's factors in the understanding of parental sensitivity. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Refined avian risk assessment for aldicarb in the United StatesINTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2010Dwayne RJ Moore Abstract Aldicarb was recently reviewed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) for re-registration eligibility. In this paper, we describe a refined avian risk assessment for aldicarb that was conducted to build upon the screening-level methods used by USEPA. The goal of the refined ERA was to characterize and understand better the risks posed by aldicarb to birds in areas where the pesticide is applied. Aldicarb is a systemic insecticide sold in granular form under the trade name Temik®. It is applied directly to soil and is used to control mites, nematodes, and aphids on a variety of crops (e.g., cotton, potatoes, peanuts). Consumption of grit is necessary for proper digestion in many bird species, particularly for granivores and insectivores. Thus, aldicarb granules may be mistaken for grit by birds. The Granular Pesticide Avian Risk Assessment Model (GranPARAM) is described in a companion paper and was used to estimate the probability and magnitude of effects to flocks of birds that frequent aldicarb-treated fields. One hundred thirty-five exposure scenarios were modeled that together include a range of bird species, crops, application methods and rates, and regions in the United States. The results indicated that, even for the most sensitive bird species, the risks associated with the agricultural use of granular aldicarb are negligible to low. There are several reasons for the limited risk: 1) the Temik formulation includes a gypsum core and a graphite coating and is black in color, all of which have been shown to be unattractive to birds, and 2) the pesticide is applied subsurface and rapidly dissolves following contact with water. The fact that no bird kill incidents involving appropriate label uses of aldicarb have been conclusively documented in the United States over its 38 years of use supports the results of this refined risk assessment. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2010; 6:83,101. © 2009 SETAC [source] Refined aquatic risk assessment for aldicarb in the United StatesINTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2010Dwayne RJ Moore Abstract Aldicarb is a systemic insecticide applied directly to soil and to control mites, nematodes, and aphids on a variety of crops (e.g., cotton, potatoes, peanuts). It is highly soluble in water (6,000 mg/L) and mobile in soils (Koc,=,100). As a result, aldicarb has the potential to be transported to aquatic systems close to treated fields. The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) recently conducted an aquatic screening-level ERA for aldicarb as part of the re-registration review process. We conducted a refined risk assessment for aldicarb to characterize better the risks posed by aldicarb to fish and invertebrates inhabiting small freshwater ponds near agricultural areas. For the exposure assessment, tier II PRZM/EXAMS (Predicted Root Zone Model [PRZM] and Exposure Analysis Modelling System [EXAMS]) modelling was conducted to estimate 30-y distributions of peak concentrations of aldicarb and the carbamate metabolites (aldicarb sulfoxide, aldicarb sulfone) in surface waters of a standard pond arising from different uses of aldicarb. The effects assessment was performed using a species sensitivity distribution (SSD) approach. The resulting risk curves as well as available incident reports suggest that risks to freshwater fish and invertebrates from exposure to aldicarb are minor. The available monitoring data did not provide conclusive evidence about risks to aquatic biota. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2010; 6:102,118. © 2009 SETAC [source] Trait-based ecological risk assessment (TERA): The new frontier?INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2008Donald J Baird Traits describe the physical characteristics, ecological niche, and functional role of species within ecosystems, and trait-based approaches are now being introduced into the field of Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA). The costs and benefits arising from the adoption of these approaches in the assessment of risks from toxic substances are described, and the path forward for this new frontier in risk assessment science is presented. In particular, the necessity for more open collaboration and web-based data-sharing to facilitate the development of these exciting new tools is stressed, and the role of scientific organizations such as SETAC as promoters of this ambitious program is highlighted. [source] Sequential analysis of lines of evidence,an advanced weight-of-evidence approach for ecological risk assessmentINTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2006Ruth N Hull Abstract Weight-of-evidence (WOE) approaches have been used in ecological risk assessment (ERA) for many years. The approaches integrate various types of data (e.g., from chemistry, bioassay, and field studies) to make an overall conclusion of risk. However, the current practice of WOE has several important difficulties, including a lack of transparency related to how each line of evidence is weighted or integrated into the overall weight-of-evidence conclusion. Therefore, a sequential analysis of lines of evidence (SALE) approach has been developed that advances the practice of WOE. It was developed for an ERA of chemical stressors but also can be used for nonchemical stressors and is equally applicable to the aquatic and terrestrial environments. The sequential aspect of the SALE process is a significant advancement and is based on 2 primary ideas. First, risks can be ruled out with the use of certain lines of evidence, including modeled hazard quotients (HQs) and comparisons of soil, water, or sediment quality with conservative soil, water or sediment quality guidelines. Thus, the SALE process recognizes that HQs are most useful in ruling out risk rather than predicting risk to ecological populations or communities. Second, the SALE process provides several opportunities to exit the risk assessment process, not only when risks are ruled out, but also when magnitude of effect is acceptable or when little or no evidence exists that associations between stressors and effects may be causal. Thus, the SALE approach explicitly includes interaction between assessors and managers. It illustrates to risk managers how risk management can go beyond the simple derivation of risk-based concentrations of chemicals of concern to risk management goals based on ecological metrics (e.g., species diversity). It also can be used to stimulate discussion of the limitations of the ERA science, and how scientists deal with uncertainty. It should assist risk managers by allowing their decisions to be based on a sequential, flexible, and transparent process that includes direct toxicity risks, indirect risks (via changes in habitat suitability), and the spatial and temporal factors that can influence the risk assessment. [source] Survey of methodologies for developing media screening values for ecological risk assessmentINTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2005Mace G. Barron Abstract This review evaluates the methodologies of 13 screening value (SV) compilations that have been commonly used in ecological risk assessment (ERA), including compilations from state and U.S. federal agencies, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Canada, The Netherlands, and Australia. The majority of surfacewater SVs were primarily derived for the protection of aquatic organisms using 2 approaches: (1) a statistical assessment of toxicity values by species groupings, such as "ambient water quality criteria," or (2) extrapolation of a lowest observed adverse effect level determined from limited toxicity data using an uncertainty factor. Sediment SVs were primarily derived for the protection of benthic invertebrates using 2 approaches: (1) statistical interpretations of databases on the incidence of biological effects and chemical concentrations in sediment, or (2) values derived from equilibrium partitioning based on a surfacewater SV. Soil SVs were derived using a diversity of approaches and were usually based on the lowest value determined from soil toxicity to terrestrial plants or invertebrates and, less frequently, from modeled, incidental soil ingestion or chemical accumulation in terrestrial organisms. The various SV compilations and methodologies had varying levels of conservatism and were not consistent in the pathways and receptors considered in the SV derivation. Many SVs were derived from other compilations and were based on outdated values, or they relied on only older toxicity data. Risk assessors involved in ERA should carefully evaluate the technical basis of SVs and consider the uncertainty in any value used to determine the presence or absence of risk and the need for further assessment. [source] A critical assessment of the ecological risk assessment process: A review of misapplied conceptsINTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2005Lawrence V. Tannenbaum Abstract A frank assessment of present-day ecological risk assessments (ERA) for managed contaminated sites reveals that fundamental concepts regarding the receptors that are considered and the chemical exposures they experience are commonly misapplied. As a consequence, environmental managers are not being supplied with the information needed for proper decision making. The stepwise review of ecological risk issues provided here suggests that the ERA process needs to be severely revamped. Further, what is likely hindering the development of a refined ecological assessment process that is better suited to environmental problem solving and land management is the unwillingness of stakeholders to agree that much of the current ERA practice and convention is flawed. [source] Reduced order state-space models from the pulse responses of a linearized CFD schemeINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 6 2003Ann L. Gaitonde This paper describes a method for obtaining a time continuous reduced order model (ROM) from a system of time continuous linear differential equations. These equations are first put into a time discrete form using a finite difference approximation. The unit sample responses of the discrete system are calculated for each system input and these provide the Markov parameters of the system. An eigenvalue realization algorithm (ERA) is used to construct a discrete ROM. This ROM is then used to obtain a continuous ROM of the original continuous system. The focus of this paper is on the application of this method to the calculation of unsteady flows using the linearized Euler equations on moving meshes for aerofoils undergoing heave or linearized pitch motions. Applying a standard cell-centre spatial discretization and taking account of mesh movement a continuous system of differential equations is obtained which are continuous in time. These are put into discrete time form using an implicit finite difference approximation. Results are presented demonstrating the efficiency of the system reduction method for this system. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Global atmospheric energetics from NCEP,Reanalysis 2 and ECMWF,ERA40 ReanalysisINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 2 2009Carlos A. F. Marques Abstract The global atmospheric energy cycle is estimated on an annual basis using Reanalysis 2 data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction and National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR), and ERA 40 Reanalyses from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) for the period 1979,2001. A formalism to avoid belowground data on pressure levels intercepted by topography is adopted. No appreciable differences were found between the two datasets from the energetics point of view. The so-called ,, and v·grad z formulations were both used for the conversions from zonal available potential energy into zonal kinetic energy (CZ) and from eddy available potential energy into eddy kinetic energy (CE). Results with both formulations are comparable only when using the formalism preventing belowground data to enter into the computations. Atmospheric energetics are also computed using ECMWF Reanalyses for the period 1958,1978. A significant increase was found in the eddy kinetic and eddy available potential energies from the early period to the later period, likely related to the assimilation in the reanalyses of satellite data after 1979. The conversion rate, CZ, was found to change its sign throughout the years. The atmospheric energy cycle using the ECMWF Reanalyses data is compared with five previous estimates. Differences in the direction of the conversion rate, CZ, between the various estimates may be explained by the different time periods chosen for averaging. Owing to the omission of belowground data, the conversion from zonal available potential energy into eddy available potential energy (CA) was somewhat smaller in ECMWF Reanalyses than in the previous estimates. Despite those differences, an overall agreement may be found between the various estimates for the atmospheric energy cycle. Copyright © 2008 Royal Meteorological Society [source] I. INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF EARLY INSTITUTIONAL DEPRIVATION ON DEVELOPMENT: BACKGROUND AND RESEARCH STRATEGY OF THE ENGLISH AND ROMANIAN ADOPTEES (ERA) STUDYMONOGRAPHS OF THE SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2010Michael Rutter First page of article [source] II. METHODS AND MEASURES USED FOR FOLLOW-UP AT 15 YEARS OF THE ENGLISH AND ROMANIAN ADOPTEE (ERA) STUDYMONOGRAPHS OF THE SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2010Romanian Study Team, The English First page of article [source] Edge Effects on ERA,SandwichesPROPELLANTS, EXPLOSIVES, PYROTECHNICS, Issue 2 2006Manfred Held Abstract The momentum transfer of thick flying plates of an ERA sandwich and iterative disturbances of shaped charge jets by thin flying plates are shortly described. [source] Problem Formulation and Option Assessment (PFOA) Linking Governance and Environmental Risk Assessment for Technologies: A Methodology for Problem Analysis of Nanotechnologies and Genetically Engineered OrganismsTHE JOURNAL OF LAW, MEDICINE & ETHICS, Issue 4 2009Kristen C. Nelson Societal evaluation of new technologies, specifically nanotechnology and genetically engineered organisms (GEOs), challenges current practices of governance and science. Employing environmental risk assessment (ERA) for governance and oversight assumes we have a reasonable ability to understand consequences and predict adverse effects. However, traditional ERA has come under considerable criticism for its many shortcomings and current governance institutions have demonstrated limitations in transparency, public input, and capacity. Problem Formulation and Options Assessment (PFOA) is a methodology founded on three key concepts in risk assessment (science-based consideration, deliberation, and multi-criteria analysis) and three in governance (participation, transparency, and accountability). Developed through a series of international workshops, the PFOA process emphasizes engagement with stakeholders in iterative stages, from identification of the problem(s) through comparison of multiple technology solutions that could be used in the future with their relative benefits, harms, and risk. It provides "upstream public engagement" in a deliberation informed by science that identifies values for improved decision making. [source] GENERATING THEORY, TOURISM, AND "WORLD HERITAGE" IN INDONESIA: ETHICAL QUANDARIES FOR ANTHROPOLOGISTS IN AN ERA OF TOURIST MANIADANNALS OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL PRACTICE, Issue 1 2005KATHLEEN M. ADAMS This article is broadly concerned with the unique ethical quandaries anthropologists face when conducting research in touristic milieus, as well as the ethical dilemmas that ensue once we have left the field and are engaged in constructing theoretically informed portraits of the communities we researched. Specifically, drawing on experiences in two contrasting Indonesian field settings (Tana Toraja and Alor), I explore the ways in which contemporary anthropological theories about culture, identity, and identity politics can collide with local perceptions and local tourism-generating aspirations, placing researchers in potentially problematic ethical terrain. [source] CHOLEDOCHODUODENOSTOMY: REAPPRAISAL IN THE LAPAROSCOPIC ERAANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY, Issue 6 2008Kamran Khalid Background: With the advent of interventional endoscopic procedures and with growing experience of laparoscopic surgery, the indications for open biliary procedures have become limited. This prospective study reviews the indications of open choledochoduodenostomy for benign biliary diseases and presents the short-term and long-term outcomes of this procedure in the present minimally invasive surgical era. Methods: Side-to-side choledochoduodenostomy was carried out for various benign obstructive pathologies of the biliary tract. The various parameters recorded were the demographic data, indications for surgery, early and late complications and the long-term outcome of the procedure. Results: Results of choledochoduodenostomy on 54 consecutive patients over a 9-year period are presented. The mean age was 49.7 years with a male to female ratio of 1:2.6. Thirty (55.5%) patients presented with obstructive jaundice and 42.6% had cholangitis. Overall hospital morbidity was 13% with zero mortality. After a mean follow up of 7.8 years, 96.3% patients had ,good' or ,fair' and 3.7% experienced ,poor' results. No recurrent disease or biliary malignancy was observed. Conclusion: Open biliary drainage procedures may still be indicated in select patients where the facility or expertise for minimally invasive biliary procedures is not available. Choledochoduodenostomy remains an effective biliary drainage procedure with acceptable morbidity and mortality, especially in the high-risk and elderly population. The procedure should be regarded as an essential in the general surgical knowledge and training. [source] NEW ERA: PROPHYLACTIC SURGERY FOR PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE ENDOCRINE NEOPLASIA-2AANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY, Issue 7 2006Jessica E. Gosnell Background: The surgical management of patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia-2A (MEN-2A) continues to evolve with specific genotype,phenotype correlations allowing for a more tailored approach. In this study, we report the surgical management of one of the largest MEN-2A families with a rearranged during transfection (RET) codon 804 mutation. Method: This is a cohort study comprising all at-risk kindred within a single known MEN-2A family. Prophylactic total thyroidectomy with lymph node dissection was recommended to all mutation carriers aged 5 years and older. Results: There were a total of 48 at-risk individuals in the MEN-2A kindred, with 22 patients undergoing thyroidectomy after appropriate preoperative evaluation. A total of 9 patients had medullary thyroid cancer including 5 with a normal preoperative calcitonin level. A total of 11 patients had C-cell hyperplasia and 7 showed histological evidence of parathyroid disease. Only the index case had a phaeochromocytoma. Conclusion: Genetic testing for germline mutations in the RET proto-oncogene has allowed precise identification of affected RET carriers and provided the opportunity for prophylactic or ,preclinical' surgery to treat and in fact to prevent medullary thyroid cancer. This concept of prophylactic surgery based on a genetic test is likely to be applied more widely as the tools of molecular biology advance. [source] Normalization of A2A and A3 adenosine receptor up-regulation in rheumatoid arthritis patients by treatment with anti,tumor necrosis factor , but not methotrexateARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 10 2009Katia Varani Objective To investigate A1, A2A, A2B, and A3 adenosine receptors in lymphocytes and neutrophils from patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (ERA) as well as from RA patients treated with methotrexate (MTX) or anti,tumor necrosis factor , (anti-TNF,), as compared with those in age-matched healthy controls, and to examine correlations between the status and functionality of adenosine receptors and TNF, release and NF-,B activation. Methods Adenosine receptors were analyzed by saturation binding assays and Western blot analyses. We investigated the potency of typical A2A and A3 agonists in the production of cAMP in control subjects, ERA patients, and RA patients treated with MTX or anti-TNF,. In a separate cohort of RA patients, TNF, release and NF-,B activation were evaluated in plasma and nuclear extracts, respectively. Results In ERA patients, we found a high density and altered functionality of A2A and A3 receptors. The binding and functional parameters of A2A and A3 receptors normalized after anti-TNF,, but not MTX, treatment. TNF, release was increased in ERA patients and in MTX-treated RA patients, whereas in anti-TNF,,treated RA patients, release was comparable to that in the controls. NF-,B activation was elevated in ERA patients and in MTX-treated RA patients. Anti-TNF, treatment mediated decreased levels of NF-,B activation. Conclusion A2A and A3 receptor up-regulation in ERA patients and in MTX-treated RA patients was associated with high levels of TNF, and NF-,B activation. Treatment with anti-TNF, normalized A2A and A3 receptor expression and functionality. This new evidence of A2A and A3 receptor involvement opens the possibility of exploiting their potential role in human diseases characterized by a marked inflammatory component. [source] Subtype-specific peripheral blood gene expression profiles in recent-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritisARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 7 2009Michael G. Barnes Objective To identify differences in peripheral blood gene expression between patients with different subclasses of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and healthy controls in a multicenter study of patients with recent-onset JIA prior to treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) or biologic agents. Methods Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 59 healthy children and 136 patients with JIA (28 with enthesitis-related arthritis [ERA], 42 with persistent oligoarthritis, 45 with rheumatoid factor [RF],negative polyarthritis, and 21 with systemic disease) were isolated from whole blood. Poly(A) RNA was labeled using a commercial RNA amplification and labeling system (NuGEN Ovation), and gene expression profiles were obtained using commercial expression microarrays (Affymetrix HG-U133 Plus 2.0). Results A total of 9,501 differentially expressed probe sets were identified among the JIA subtypes and controls (by analysis of variance; false discovery rate 5%). Specifically, 193, 1,036, 873, and 7,595 probe sets were different in PBMCs from the controls compared with those from the ERA, persistent oligoarthritis, RF-negative polyarthritis, and systemic JIA patients, respectively. In patients with persistent oligoarthritis, RF-negative polyarthritis, and systemic JIA subtypes, up-regulation of genes associated with interleukin-10 (IL-10) signaling was prominent. A hemoglobin cluster was identified that was underexpressed in ERA patients but overexpressed in systemic JIA patients. The influence of JAK/STAT, ERK/MAPK, IL-2, and B cell receptor signaling pathways was evident in patients with persistent oligoarthritis. In systemic JIA, up-regulation of innate immune pathways, including IL-6, Toll-like receptor/IL-1 receptor, and peroxisome proliferator,activated receptor signaling, were noted, along with down-regulation of gene networks related to natural killer cells and T cells. Complement and coagulation pathways were up-regulated in systemic JIA, with a subset of these genes being differentially expressed in other subtypes as well. Conclusion Expression analysis identified differentially expressed genes in PBMCs obtained early in the disease from patients with different subtypes of JIA and in healthy controls, providing evidence of immunobiologic differences between these forms of childhood arthritis. [source] The ERA: A Brave New World of Accountability for Australian University Accounting SchoolsAUSTRALIAN ACCOUNTING REVIEW, Issue 1 2010Paul De Lange This study examines the potential impact of Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) on Australian university accounting schools through a series of in-depth interviews with Heads of Schools. Using an institutional theory framework we find that the pending introduction of the ERA has brought about changes in school structures, processes and systems. A creeping isomorphism is apparent as evidenced by a sector-wide movement towards targeting publications in highly ranked North American journals. While participants were generally positive about the overall aims of the ERA many felt that it would marginalise non-mainstream research. Furthermore, they were of the opinion that the ERA would lead to a reduction in the standing of accounting schools within Australian universities relative to other disciplines. [source] FACTORS INHIBITING DEFLATIONARY BIAS IN CURRENCY BOARD ECONOMIES: EVIDENCE FROM THE COLONIAL ERAAUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW, Issue 2 2006Article first published online: 16 JUN 200, Malcolm Treadgold colonial economies; currency board; deflationary bias; economic growth A traditional criticism of currency boards is that they impart a deflationary bias to growing economies. Three factors, however, may inhibit the bias: increases in the velocity of money; increases in the monetary base, which under a currency board occur only through balance-of-payments surpluses; and increases in the money multiplier. This article investigates each of the factors in Fiji, Ghana, Jamaica and Malaya over various periods near the end of the colonial era. Except in Malaya, where the money multiplier declined, all helped prevent deflationary outcomes. In broad terms, growth in the monetary base was the most important. [source] Congestive Heart Failure Patient Factors in the Device EraCONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE, Issue 6 2006Gretchen Wells MD [source] Corporate Governance in the Post-Sarbanes-Oxley Era: Auditors' Experiences,CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 3 2010JEFFREY COHEN First page of article [source] Empty Citizenship: Protesting Politics in the Era of GlobalizationCULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 4 2005Ritty Lukose Globalization is often indexed by the rise of a consumerist ethos and the expansion of the market economy at the expense of state-centric formulations of politics and citizenship. This article explores the politics and practices of gendered democratic citizenship in an educational setting when that setting is newly reconfigured as a commodity under neoliberal privatization efforts. This entails an attention to discourses of consumption as they intersect postcolonial cultural-ideological political fields. Focusing on the contemporary trajectory among politicized male college students of a historically important masculinist "political public" in Kerala, India, the article tracks an explicit discourse of "politics"(rashtriyam). This enables an exploration of a struggle over the meaning of democratic citizenship that opposes a political public rooted in a tradition of anticolonial struggle and postcolonial nationalist politics to that of a "civic public," rooted in ideas about the freedom to consume through the logic of privatization. [source] Mapping Common Futures: Customary Communities, NGOs and the State in Indonesia's Reform EraDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 1 2005Carol Warren The post-Suharto ,Reform Era' has witnessed explosive revitalization movements among Indonesia's indigenous minorities or ,customary'(adat) communities attempting to redress the disempowerment they suffered under the former regime. This study considers the current resurgence of customary claims to land and resources in Bali, where the state-sponsored investment boom of the 1990s had severe social and environmental impacts. It focuses on recent experiments with participatory community mapping, aimed at reframing the relationship between state and local institutions in planning and decision-making processes. Closely tied to the mapping and planning strategy have been efforts to strengthen local institutions and to confront the problems of land alienation and community control of resources. The diversity of responses to this new intervention reflects both the vitality and limitations of local adat communities, as well as the contributions and constraints of non-governmental organizations that increasingly mediate their relationships to state and global arenas. This ethnographic study explores participants' experiences of the community mapping programme and suggests its potential for developing ,critical localism' through long-term, process-oriented engagements between communities, governments, NGOs, and academic researchers. [source] Vulnerability, Control and Oil Palm in Sarawak: Globalization and a New Era?DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 2 2002Fadzilah Majid Cooke In the post logging era, Sarawak is being restructured to make way for large-scale oil palm plantations. In this restructuring, the vulnerabilities of particular areas are being used in a wider battle to control production, particularly for export. Native customary lands, considered ,unproductive' or ,idle' by officials, are the target of oil palm plantation development under a new land development programme called Konsep Baru (New Concept). This article looks at the contradictions generated by the complex process of laying claims to ,idle' native customary land and focuses on Dayak organizing initiatives in northern Sarawak, Malaysia. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||