A Hermeneutic Case Reconstruction of a published first-person narrative

Hermeneutic Case Reconstruction (Rosenthal, 1993) is a systematic method of analysing biographical self-presentations from an interpretivist perspective. The method consists of five major analytic steps. The first is an analysis of the biographical data that can stand independently of the narrator’s perspective. ‘Objective’ data is extracted from the text or interview transcript and ordered chronologically. Secondly, a thematic field analysis is undertaken in which the data is divided into separate units according to the type of text used, whilst keeping the sequence of these texts units intact. In this step, hypotheses are developed regarding the potential significance of the style and sequence of the events presented. The product of this second step is a reconstruction of the life story. A reconstruction of the life history then follows as the third step. The purpose of this step is to generate hypotheses about the meanings that biographical experiences might have had for the narrator at the time they occurred, given the sociocultural context in which they occurred. In the fourth step, microanalysis of individual text segments is undertaken, in which all hypotheses generated in the earlier steps are tested against the text for support or refutation. The final step consists of a contrastive comparison of the life history and life story. The life story and life history are compared to determine, for example, which aspects of the narrator’s experience have been emphasised or minimised. Through this comparison, the selective process is highlighted. This is referred to as the case structure. This paper describes an application of this method to a published first-person narrative of a woman’s experiences of sustaining a brain injury in a motor vehicle accident.

Investigations into a power-combining structure using a reflect array of dual-feed aperture-coupled microstrip patch antennas

This paper details an investigation of a power combiner that uses a reflect array of dual-feed aperture-coupled microstrip patch antennas and a corporate-fed dual-polarized array as a signal distributing/combining device. In this configuration, elements of the reflect array receive a linearly polarized wave and retransmit it with an orthogonal polarization using variable-length sections of microstrip lines connecting receive and transmit ports. By applying appropriate lengths of these delay lines, the array focuses the transmitted wave onto the feed array. The operation of the combiner is investigated for a small-size circular reflect array for the cases of -3 dB, -6 dB and -10 dB edge illumination by the 2 x 2-element dual-polarized array.

The non-existence of a utility function and the structure of non-representable preference relations

In this paper we investigate the structure of non-representable preference relations. While there is a vast literature on different kinds of preference relations that can be represented by a real-valued utility function, very little is known or understood about preference relations that cannot be represented by a real-valued utility function. There has been no systematic analysis of the non-representation problem. In this paper we give a complete description of non-representable preference relations which are total preorders or chains. We introduce and study the properties of four classes of non-representable chains: long chains, planar chains, Aronszajn-like chains and Souslin chains. In the main theorem of the paper we prove that a chain is non-representable if and only it is a long chain, a planar chain, an Aronszajn-like chain or a Souslin chain. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

Sub-structure syntheses and relative stereochemistry in the bistramide (bistratene) series of marine metabolites

The (6R*,9S*,11S*) and (22S*,23R*,27R*,31R*) stereochemistry, respectively, of the tetrahydropyranyl and spiroacetal moieties in bistramide A (1) have been established by stereoselective syntheses and high field NMR comparisons. Routes to the gamma-amino acid moiety are outlined. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Crystal structure of yeast acetohydroxyacid synthase: A target for herbicidal inhibitors

Acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS; EC 4.1.3.18) catalyzes the first step in branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis. The enzyme requires thiamin diphosphate and FAD for activity, but the latter is unexpected, because the reaction involves no oxidation or reduction. Due to its presence in plants, AHAS is a target for sulfonylurea and imidazolinone herbicides. Here, the crystal structure to 2.6 A resolution of the catalytic subunit of yeast AHAS is reported. The active site is located at the dimer interface and is near the proposed herbicide-binding site. The conformation of FAD and its position in the active site are defined. The structure of AHAS provides a starting point for the rational design of new herbicides. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Interaction of temperature and vegetative flush maturity influences shoot structure and development of lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.)

Potted lychee trees (cv. Tai so) of varying vegetative flush maturity were grown under a range of temperature regimes and monitored for subsequent shoot structure and development. A combination of low temperature (15/17 or 18/13 degreesC day/night) and high vegetative flush maturity was necessary for floral initiation to occur, Exposure to high temperatures (28/23 degreesC) invariably resulted in the production of vegetative shoots, irrespective of flush maturity. Strong floral initiation was marked by the emergence of terminal particles and accompanying axillary particles. A decrea,;e in vegetative flush maturity or increase in temperature (e.g. 23/18 degreesC) resulted in a decrease in axillary shoot formation and the production of several intermediate shoot structures. These included leafy particles, stunted particles, partially emerged buds and non-emergent swollen buds, often produced on the same tree. At 23/18 degreesC, closer synchronisation of initial flush maturity was required for the production of a consistent shoot-type. Trees with synchronised mature flushes (I-2) at 23/18 degreesC resulted in the production of swollen terminal buds. Healthy trees were maintained in this state for at least 11 months. These results indicate that both temperature and flush maturity can influence subsequent shoot structure of lychee. In the absence of either a strong floral temperature (18/13 degreesC) or strong vegetative temperature (28/23 degreesC), slight differences in initial flush maturity have gteater impact on the type of emerging shoot formed. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Self-awareness of Prospective Memory Failure in Adults with Traumatic Brain Injury

The frequency of prospective memory failure in individuals with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) was investigated by comparison with a non-brain-injured control group. Self-awareness of prospective memory function was also assessed by comparing self-ratings with ratings by significant others. Study participants included 33 individuals with severe TBI and 29 non-brain-injured persons. Each participant nominated a close friend or relative who completed the informant's version of the questionnaire. Participants and their significant others both rated the participants' frequency of prospective memory lapses using the Comprehensive Assessment of Prospective Memory (CAPM). An independent groups design was adopted to compare the TBI and control groups. No significant difference was found between the TBI and control participants' self-ratings of frequency of prospective memory failure, but ratings by significant others were significantly different. The TBI group demonstrated less self-awareness (i.e. underestimated the frequency of prospective memory failure compared to significant others) than the control group.

Acute characteristics of pediatric dysphagia subsequent to traumatic brain injury: Videofluoroscopic assessment

Objective: To document the acute characteristics of swallowing impairment in a group of children post moderate/severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) by means of videofluoroscopy. Participants: Eighteen children with moderate/severe TBI. Main Outcome Measure: Videofluoroscopy at an average of 27.7 days post-injury. Results: Subjects demonstrated a range of dysphagia severity levels: mild-moderate (n = 8), moderate (n = 6), moderate-severe (n = 3), and severe (n = 1) and had a combination of oral and pharyngeal phase characteristics. More specifically; observable features or physiological impairments that were identified included reduced lingual control, hesitancy of tongue movement, repetitive tongue pumping, the presence of aspiration (including silent aspiration), delayed swallow reflex trigger, reduced laryngeal elevation and closure, and reduced peristalsis. Conclusions: These data highlight the diversity of swallowing deficits and dysphagia severity levels in children following TBI and suggest that the former are consistent with a pattern of oropharyngeal impairments.

Interlabial contact pressures exhibited in dysarthria following traumatic brain injury during speech and nonspeech tasks

A miniature pressure transducer was used to assess the interlabial contact pressures produced by a group of 19 adults (mean age 30.6 years) with dysarthria following severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) during a set of speech and nonspeech tasks. Ten parameters relating to lip strength, endurance, rate of movement and lip pressure accuracy and stability were measured from the nonspeech tasks. The results attained by the TBI group were compared against a group of 19 age- and sex-matched control subjects. Significant differences between the groups were found for maximum interlabial contact pressure, maximum rate of repetition of maximum pressure, and lip pressure accuracy at 50 and 10% levels of maximum pressure. In regards to speech, the interlabial contact pressures generated by the TBI group and control group did not differ significantly. When expressed as percentages of maximum pressure, however, the TBI group's interlabial pressures appeared to have been generated with greater physiological effort. Copyright (C) 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Influence of nano-structure on electrolytic properties in CeO2 based system

Doped ceria (CeO2) compounds are fluorite type oxides that show oxygen ionic conductivity higher than yttria stabilized zirconia, in oxidizing atmosphere. In order to improve the conductivity, the effective index was suggested to maximize the oxygen ionic conductivity in doped CeO2 based oxides. In addition, the true microstructure of doped CeO2 was observed at atomic scale for conclusion of conduction mechanism. Doped CeO2 had small domains (10-50 nm) with ordered structure in a grain. It is found that the electrolytic properties strongly depended on the nano-structural feature at atomic scale in doped CeO2 electrolyte.

RNA trafficking and stabilization elements associate with multiple brain proteins

Two of the best understood somatic cell mRNA cytoplasmic trafficking elements are those governing localization of beta-actin and myelin basic protein mRNAs. These cis-acting elements bind the trans-acting factors fibroblast ZBP-1 and hnRNP A2, respectively. It is not known whether these elements fulfil other roles in mRNA metabolism. To address this question we have used Edman sequencing and western blotting to identify six rat brain proteins that bind the beta-actin element (zipcode). All are known RNA-binding proteins and differ from ZBP-1. Comparison with proteins that bind the hnRNP A2 and AU-rich response elements, A2RE/A2RE11 and AURE, showed that AURE and zipcode bind a similar set of proteins that does not overlap with those that bind A2RE11. The zipcode-binding protein, KSRP, and hnRNP A2 were selected for further study and were shown by confocal immunolluorescence microscopy to have similar distributions in the central nervous system, but they were found in largely separate locations in cell nuclei. In the cytoplasm of cultured oligodendrocytes they were segregated into separate populations of cytoplasmic granules. We conclude that not only may there be families of trans-acting factors for the same cis-acting element, which are presumably required at different stages of mRNA processing and metabolism, but independent factors may also target different and multiple RNAs in the same cell.