Strict Patterns Research Articles

How to Bury the Dead. A study on regional variations in the southern Baltic area during Late Pre-Roman and Early Roman Iron Age

This article deals with the question of regional variation in funeral customs during a part of the Early Iron Age in the Baltic Sea area. The backbone of this study is a presentation of a comparison between a selection of investi-gated cemeteries in the south Baltic area, including parts of Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Poland. The starting point is the graves of southern Sweden in general and the Istaby cemetery in particular.The graves of the elite are very important and interesting from many differ-ent aspects, but for the purposes of this study the graves of the more ordinary people are considered to better highlight the main features of the regional vari-ations. The study of burials from Late Pre-Roman Iron Age and Early Roman Iron Age in the southern Baltic includes a world of a thousand details. Sev-eral interesting observations are made regarding similarities and differences in the chronology of the cemeteries, cemetery size and complexity, visible grave monuments, burial customs, artefact types and combinations. The different and partly overlapping regional expressions in the ritual systems, makes the contacts with other people, across the sea, especially clear. A correspondence analysis shows three themes of how the dead were equipped and displayed, following rather strict patterns, suggesting that these were widely distributed idealized metaphors.Despite many differences between the regions, the main feature is the great similarities. One main conclusion drawn from this study is that there were several regional traits in burial practices in the different areas and in many of the single details mentioned above. In contrast to obvious variations, the cem-eteries had several traits in common; these give an impression of the occurrence of governing ritual norms that were generally adopted throughout a large area around the southern and western parts of the Baltic Sea. This is a very strong indication of overlying and governing ritual norms and religious beliefs that were shared among the Germanic tribes.

Modeling and Optimization of Technology and Physics-Mechanical Properties of Composite Materials

To this day, there is a large volume collected of the results of experimental studies on structure changes in various dispersions serving as base for production of most construction materials. The analysis of collected information revealed that there is an entire category of stick-slip phenomena, the case history of which is represented by N-and S-type inflections on rheological, kinetic and other curves. We should emphasis that the view of such non-trivial charts is alike with geometry of standard curves of standard conditions. And this alikeness predetermines the possibility of applying topological models of «fold» and «ruffle» types for studying various abnormal effects. We must also note that besides N- and S-types there is a range of other characteristics («flags») pointing to applicability of the methods of catastrophe theory to studying certain processes initiating the apparition of interruptions in system development. Recognition of above-mentioned particularities allows determining the fact and type of catastrophe, the standardised structure of which facilitates finding strict patterns and thus defines directions of optimisation of various situations of research and practical nature. This work shows that pieces of evidence and consistent patters are reliably interpreted within the framework of the proposed concept.

WARDER: Towards effective spreadsheet defect detection by validity-based cell cluster refinements

Nowadays spreadsheets are very popular and being widely used. However, they can be prone to various defects and cause severe consequences when end users poorly maintain them. Our research communities have proposed various techniques for automated detection of spreadsheet defects, but they commonly fall short of effectiveness, either due to their limited scope or relying on strict patterns. In this article, we discuss and improve one state-of-the-art technique, CUSTODES, which exploits spreadsheet cell clustering and defect detection to extend its scope and make its detection patterns adaptive to varying spreadsheet styles. Still, CUSTODES can be prone to problematic clustering when accidentally involving irrelevant cells, leading to a largely reduced detection precision. Regarding this, we present WARDER to refine CUSTODES’s spreadsheet cell clustering based on three extensible validity-based properties. Experimental results show that WARDER could improve the precision by 19.1% on spreadsheet cell clustering, which contributed to a precision improvement of 23.3 ~ 24.3% for spreadsheet defect detection, as compared to CUSTODES (F-measure increased from 0.71 to 0.79 ~ 0.82). WARDER also exhibited satisfactory results on another practical large-scale spreadsheet corpus VEnron2, improving the defect detection precision by 10.7 ~ 21.2% over CUSTODES.

Invektivität - Perspektiven eines neuen Forschungsprogramms in den Kultur- und Sozialwissenschaften

Abstract This article aims to introduce the concept of „Invecticity“ as a new perspective for social and cultural studies. It understands phenomena of insult and debasement, of humiliation and exposure as - cross-cultural and epoch-spanning - basic operations of societal communication. Due to their disruptive, stabilising or dynamising effects on social order, invective communication have the potential to unite and shape societies. This article subsumes such phenomena under the term Invectivity. The term includes all aspects of communication (either verbal or non-verbal, oral or written, gestural or graphic) that are used to degrade, to hurt or to marginalize others. Manifestations and functions of the Invective are not systemised under strict patterns but medially, politically, socially and aesthetically contextualized depending on the diverse historical contexts and complex constellations they occur in. Thus, they can only be properly understood as performative events which develop through the interaction of ascription, response and follow-up communication as well as by means of the social, discursive and media conditions in which they arise.

Lipid fingerprint image accurately conveys human colon cell pathophysiologic state: A solid candidate as biomarker

Membrane lipids are gaining increasing attention in the clinical biomarker field, as they are associated with different pathologic processes such as cancer or neurodegenerative diseases. Analyzing human colonoscopic sections by matrix assisted laser/desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry imaging techniques, we identified a defined number of lipid species changing concomitant to the colonocyte differentiation and according to a quite simple mathematical expression. These species felt into two lipid families tightly associated in signaling: phosphatidylinositols and arachidonic acid-containing lipids. On the other hand, an opposed pattern was observed in lamina propria for AA-containing lipids, coinciding with the physiological distribution of the immunological response cells in this tissue. Importantly, the lipid gradient was accompanied by a gradient in expression of enzymes involved in lipid mobilization. Finally, both lipid and protein gradients were lost in adenomatous polyps. The latter allowed us to assess how different a single lipid species is handled in a pathological context depending on the cell type. The strict patterns of distribution in lipid species and lipid enzymes described here unveil the existence of fine regulatory mechanisms orchestrating the lipidome according to the physiological state of the cell. In addition, these results provide solid evidence that the cell lipid fingerprint image can be used to predict precisely the physiological and pathological status of a cell, reinforcing its translational impact in clinical research.

Blood Pressure in Schoolchildren and Adolescents and its Variation according to Nutritional Status Evaluation: An Early Preventive Key for Obesity Comorbidities

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) already exist in pediatric ages although their progress and major clinical burden occur in adulthood. Wide international studies have shown their tracking from early ages. Elevated blood pressure (EBP) is more frequent in overweight and obese children and adolescents (C&A), although this is often overlooked, particularly in slightly overweight children. The aim of this study is to screen the asymptomatic C&A in order to stress the importance of it. Methods: 1347 C&A (45% girls) regularly attending urban and suburban state schools with ages between 6-18 years were enrolled after having relevant inclusion criteria. Gender, age, height, weight and circumferences were obtained with a specified precision limits for each one. The nutritional status was after BMI-Z score. Blood pressure measurements were also taken with the same strict patterns using mercury column devices. Prehypertension was considered when systolic or diastolic blood pressure (SBF, DBP) were higher than 90th centile and below the 95 th centile. Results: SBP > 90 th centile was founded in 25.7% of the whole sample and in 31.9% of the overweight and obese subgroups. Overweight C&A were 24%, and obese 8% of the total populations, these ratios unfortunately are concordant to the skewed national pediatric population. Significant differences occur when subgroups were analyzed by nutritional status, gender and age. The multiple regression analysis shows a clear association of SBP (dependent variable) with age, waist circumference and gender.

Quand virus et hôtes évoluent ensemble: la fidélité est-elle la règle?

Viruses display strong interactions with their hosts, from physiological and ecological point of views, often leading to strict patterns of host specificity. It is then tempting to consider that viruses evolve in the same way as their hosts, behaving more or less like hosts' characters. However, the cospeciation between viruses and their hosts, that is the degree to which their evolutionary trees are similar, has been the subject or relatively few studies, in a field otherwise very dynamic. The main concepts and methods to study the patterns of cospeciation, and more generally cophylogeny, are reviewed here. Their uses with host-virus systems suggest that, contrarily to a common belief, the joint evolutionary history of viruses and their hosts is often complex. Without a rigorous cophylogeny study, it is then very risky to consider that the evolutionary history of viruses mirrors that of their hosts.

“A Refusal of Strict Patterns of Interpretation”: Metaphor, Narrative, and Literary Connections in Katherine Mansfield’s “The Fly”

This paper explores how narrative and metaphor combine to articulate the moral and ideological message in a short story “The Fly” by Katherine Mansfield. The research addresses some of the most popular interpretations of the story that demonstrate its ambiguity and intertextual connections. The story metaphorical language is compared with the metaphorical patterns that account for symbolism in a related short story “Small Fry” by Anton Chekhov. The paper argues that cognitive stylistic approach to narrative study can provide the necessary tools to explain the patterns of imagery that produce the story ambiguity. Personification as an important ontological metaphor generates patterns that rationalize the formation of symbolic individuality in existence.

A computational model for accommodating spatial uncertainty: Predicting inhabitation patterns in open-planned spaces

In the past, a range of computational models have been developed for analysing the social implications of spatial patterns and types. While such models are typically focussed on macro-patterns, often in cellular or linearly-organised spaces, few models exist for predicting where people will cluster within complex environments. One reason for this relates to the inherent uncertainty associated with spatial attributes and consequently of human spatial behaviours. The present paper draws on the concept of fuzzy spatial objects to develop an approach to handle such uncertainty in architecture. Focussing on large, open plan spaces, where the configuration of space does not define strict patterns of usage, the paper proposes a computational model for predicting patterns of spatial inhabitation. This new model relies on the theory of fuzzy sets to propose the existence of a “fuzzy architectural spatial object, (FASO)” which is comprised of spatial units with degrees of membership that reflect the possibility of a person being present in a sub-space or involved in a sub-function within a larger space. This model calculates and visualises the FASOs using a fuzzy inference engine and represents the space as distributed possibilities of presence according to the given data. After describing the model the paper demonstrates its application in the prediction of patterns of usage within a major exhibition space, and then presents a check of the efficacy of this prediction against the actual inhabitation of the space.

Sexual coercion within marriage in Bangladesh

Synopsis This article examines the influence of intra-marital gender relations on sexual decision-making and women's sexual and reproductive health in Bangladesh. It presents findings based on qualitative data that indicate that strict patterns of traditional responsibilities and decision-making regarding sexual relationships leave little room for women's consent. Notions of women's right to sexual pleasure or to refuse sex are widely rejected by men, many of whom, in contrast, view sex with their wives as a husband's right. As such, a majority of women in the study experienced sexual intercourse against their will, based on a combination of threats, intimidation and force, which interview responses suggest may have serious consequences on their sexual and reproductive health. In the conclusion, some practical implications of the research are covered, and policy recommendations are made to combine women's empowerment measures with men's engagement and awareness-raising, as well as supportive legal frameworks.

An agent-based model for simulating urban morphology: Sachnin as a case study

In some sub-urban areas, planning the distribution of resources is a highly difficult mission that is often done in retrospect, as a response to the (illegal) development of new built areas. The Arab settlements in the Galilee are organic entities and can be perceived as organic ‘communities’. Their built morphology is unique and does not follow strict geometrical patterns. The streets in these settlements do not align, and there is no visible continuity of their morphology. The difficulty in predicting the development of these settlements challenges the ability of the local authorities to adjust their planning in terms of urban infrastructure and facilities. This leads to low maintenance of the urban systems. Computer simulation models that mimic the development of such settlements could help understand the development trends and support future alternative designs. This may lead to better control and distribution of urban resources by local authorities and thus to an improved quality of life of the residents. In this paper, the potential and possible use of a preliminary agent-based cellular automata model is illustrated. This model mimics the development of sub-urban Arab (organic) settlements in the Galilee. It can be used to identify the influence of various scenarios of top down urban planning on the built environment. For example, planners can use this model to study the influence of different transportation paths on the city’s development. This work is based on the perception of urban and sub-urban entities as complex ones. These systems fit the definition of complex as they are governed by many agents that act in space and time, and are motivated by various forces. The interactions between these agents control the evolution of the built environment. In a preliminary study, we considered Sachnin as a case study and identified diverse forces that influence the development of the organic Arab settlement. We developed a preliminary model based on the traditional patriarchal form of the Arab family, as its influence on the settlement’s development is very significant. We showed that identifying one of the most influential processes that are related to the Arab settlements leads to a better understanding of the urban evolution in terms of spatial distribution and morphological configuration.

“We will call this ‘doing our exorcises’”

Even though Audrey Thomas’s Mrs. Blood (1970) has received a considerable amount of critical attention, what has not been analysed in detail is the complex interaction between the novel’s existential themes and its highly poetic language. By relying on Julia Kristeva’s insights on the link between border crossing experiences and a discourse that is marked by the discharge of affects, this paper intends to come to a better appreciation of the novel’s strong association of narrative and style. By closely analysing several passages, it argues that even though Mrs. Thing — the rationalizing side of the narrator’s persona — feels alienated from normative, communicative discourse as it cannot accommodate her border crossing experiences, her fear of losing all grasp on self and meaning makes her desperate to hold on to the symbolic. Significantly, both her narrative as well as that of her alter ego are characterized by syntactic, lexical and phonetic disruptions (i.e. the semiotic) that give expression to affects and emotions that resist being silenced or bound into strict patterns. The novel’s discourse, in other words, undermines the narrator’s desire for stability and illustrates that both Mrs. Thing’s overreliance on normative communication (i.e. the symbolic) and Mrs. Blood’s complete submission to the discharge of affects (i.e. the semiotic) are disastrous for the speaking subject.

Static Evaluation of Pedicle Screw Spinal Constructs to the ASTM Standard: A Comparison of Multiple Test Laboratories

Abstract Newly acquired mechanical test data along with predicate device data—sometimes from the designer’s historical records—are a requisite part of the regulatory submission process for new pedicle screw spinal constructs. Several studies have compared the mechanical properties of various designs of these medical devices, which are commonly inserted during spinal fusion operations. However, a rigorous comparison of the results coming from different laboratories testing the same devices under controlled conditions has not been performed. Six different test labs performed a series of static bending compression and static torsion tests on identically prepared pedicle screw and rod test constructs (n = 5 for both tests). Sufficient data were acquired to uncover and understand differential interpretations of the methodology described in the standard test method ASTM F1717. For ultimate displacement in compressive bending, the mean values ranged between 47.64 mm and 71.64 mm, and every single laboratory’s data were statistically significantly different from those of every other laboratory. Significant differences in the mean values carried through to the ultimate load data, but this trend did not continue for stiffness, yield displacement, yield load, and elastic displacement. For stiffness in static torsion, the mean values ranged between 0.38 Nm/° and 1.07 Nm/°. There were statistically significant differences among some of the labs for some of the parameters, but no strict patterns emerged. This is likely due to methodological and interpretive differences among the labs, such as the depth of the clevis fixtures and the direction of rotation during torsion testing. These differences in the test labs’ methodology have caused the ASTM subcommittees to clarify the standard so that fewer aspects are open for interpretation, but more work is needed. With appropriate refining of F1717 (and adherence to the new methodology by the test laboratories), test results from different laboratories would likely be more directly comparable than in the current situation.

Evolución de los rasgos culturales del formato televisivo “operación triunfo” en España desde la perspectiva de la identidad de marca (2001-2011)

Although we usually consider the television formats as precise formulas and strict patterns that allow to reproduce a program in different markets, the true is that a format, after this appearance of inflexibility that unintentionally confer him -and that to some extent possesses-, can evolve along the years to adapt to new conditions of market and treat to guarantee his survival, of the same way that brands can vary slightly along his history some elements of his identity to adapt to the changes in the environment. The present article pretends to describe and analyse the evolution of the cultural appeals -understood from the perspective of the marketing- that take part in the configuration of the brand identity of the television format Operación Triunfo from his first broadcast in Spain, in 2001, until the edition of 2011.

Sequencing PDX1 (insulin promoter factor 1) in 1788 UK individuals found 5% had a low frequency coding variant, but these variants are not associated with Type 2 diabetes

AimGenome-wide association studies have identified > 30 common variants associated with Type 2 diabetes (> 5% minor allele frequency). These variants have small effects on individual risk and do not account for a large proportion of the heritable component of the disease. Monogenic forms of diabetes are caused by mutations that occur in < 1:2000 individuals and follow strict patterns of inheritance. In contrast, the role of low frequency genetic variants (minor allele frequency 0.1–5%) in Type 2 diabetes is not known. The aim of this study was to assess the role of low frequency PDX1 (also called IPF1) variants in Type 2 diabetes.MethodsWe sequenced the coding and flanking intronic regions of PDX1 in 910 patients with Type 2 diabetes and 878 control subjects.ResultsWe identified a total of 26 variants that occurred in 5.3% of individuals, 14 of which occurred once. Only D76N occurred in > 1%. We found no difference in carrier frequency between patients (5.7%) and control subjects (5.0%) (P = 0.46). There were also no differences between patients and control subjects when analyses were limited to subsets of variants. The strongest subset were those variants in the DNA binding domain where all five variants identified were only found in patients (P = 0.06).ConclusionApproximately 5% of UK individuals carry a PDX1 variant, but there is no evidence that these variants, either individually or cumulatively, predispose to Type 2 diabetes. Further studies will need to consider strategies to assess the role of multiple variants that occur in < 1 in 1000 individuals.

Re-shaping crime fiction in Alison Taylor's 'Simeon's Bride'

Crime fiction is a genre bound by strict laws and conventions. Early literary commentary often focused on analysing these rules and classifying it into sub-genres. The strict patterns and structures of crime fiction are reflected in the work of the narratives themselves, which, with the detection and punishment of those who transgress society’s rules, seek to re-establish order on the world. As such, crime fiction has been described as a masculine genre, despite its increasing female authorship, for it supports and restores a patriarchal world after the anarchistic act of crime. Nevertheless, there are some interesting developments appearing in crime fiction which challenge conventional structures. This paper proposes that Alison Taylor’s Simeon’s Bride uses themes from an older genre, the Female Gothic, to create a new hybridised genre in which gender constructs are challenged and subverted, and, in doing so, moves crime fiction away from its masculine strictures.

Glycosidases during chick embryo lung development and their colocalization with proteoglycans and growth factors.

During development, the epithelial component of the lung goes through a complex orderly process of branching, following strict patterns of space and time. Proteoglycans, glycosaminoglycans and growth factors are fundamental components of the extracellular matrix and perform a key role in differentiative processes. The embryonic chick lung shows a specific glycosaminoglycan composition at different levels of branching and at different embryonic stages. Proteoglycan and glycosaminoglycan accumulation is the result of secretion, absorption and degradation processes. In this pathway, enzymes, such as glycosidases, growth factors and cytokines are involved. We examined the behaviour of glycosidases, such as beta-hexosaminidases (beta-N-acetyl-D-glucosaminidase, beta-N-acetyl-D-galactosaminidase), beta-glucuronidase and beta-galactosidase, during the development of the lung bud. Our data show that the activity of the enzymes is closely linked to the processes of epithelial proliferation, bronchial tubule lengthening and infiltration of the surrounding mesenchyme. The glycosaminoglycans colocalize with transforming growth factor beta2 and interleukin-1 in the basement membrane and in the mesenchymal areas where the epithelium grows, and are complementary to the presence of the glycosidases. In conclusion, the activity of these glycosidases is spatially and temporally programmed and favors the release of the factors and the events which they influence.

The Family in English Children’s Literature (review)

Reviewed by: The Family in English Children’s Literature Elizabeth Gargano (bio) The Family in English Children’s Literature. By Ann Alston. New York: Routledge, 2008. Well-researched and thorough, Ann Alston’s The Family in English Children’s Literature is an ambitious attempt to chart ideological assumptions about the family in the children’s literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Alston persuasively contends that children’s literature is inherently conservative in its celebration of an idyllic nuclear family that serves as a haven in a disorderly and contentious world. As she argues, even when twentieth-century children’s literature graphically portrays bleakly dysfunctional families, it implicitly holds up a countervailing ideal to the chaotic reality. In general, Alston asserts, children’s literature celebrates the traditional two-parent family, the solace of a conventional home with orderly spaces and predictable routines, and the shared family meal, which serves as an emblem of familial warmth, comfort, and affection. Reflecting the structure of this argument, Alston organizes her book into three sections. The first chapter offers a brief social and theoretical history of the family, and its arguments will already be familiar to scholars of children’s literature and culture. Viewing the family as a “site of discipline” and of Foucauldian “surveillance,” this chapter traces both the gradual emergence of the nuclear family and its links to the middle class (10). Alston’s purpose here is not to explore new or original ideas but rather to provide a concise history of a specific line of argument that has been made many times before. The next two chapters examine depictions of family in children’s fiction from 1818 to 2003, emphasizing the endurance of idealized nineteenth-century conceptions of domesticity. Because she covers so much territory here, Alston must restrict herself to very brief analyses of the numerous works under discussion. While these chapters provide a valuable historical review for those new to the field, Alston risks losing those readers in search of a complex or original argument. Her historical review tends toward concise plot summaries linked with brief analyses that emphasize the enduring importance of the family as a locus of disciplinarity and a focus for didactic instruction. Alston seems to hit her stride, however, in the final section; these three chapters explore a series of themes and motifs related to family life: the conception of home, domestic space, and the family meal as an image of emotional sustenance and parental nurturing. Here, Alston develops engaging and extended analyses that shed new light on an array of recent and classic children’s texts. As she convincingly argues here, traditional housekeeping practices and family meals frequently become indices of [End Page 293] a family’s health and viability. While spatial partitioning can offer an illusion of privacy and independence in a child’s bedroom, in fact the so-called bedroom sanctuary serves as a “controlled” space, since its “ownership” is still “vested in the adult” (99). Despite its clear strengths as a valuable and concise historical review, Alston’s work occasionally suffers from an overly reductive thesis. As she repeatedly asserts, “[e]ven in the more modern texts, the traditional family is depicted as desirable,” while “families that deviate from this ideal are depicted as other” (26). Thus, for Alston, “the strict patterns of children’s literature are inescapable” with regard to domestic ideology and familial norms. Whether the families portrayed in individual novels are idealized, mixed, or dysfunctional, they always appear to reinforce the traditional nineteenth-century norms enunciated in such works as Sherwood’s The History of the Fairchild Family or Sinclair’s Holiday House. Such an argument lacks nuance; the more interesting question involves the tension between children’s literature’s undoubted endorsement of traditional norms and its complementary tendency to stray into subversive transgressions of those norms. While it certainly holds a measure of accuracy, the danger of Alston’s thesis is that it risks equating such works as the Fairchild Family, Roald Dahl’s Matilda, and the Harry Potter novels without accounting for their differing degrees of tension as they strive to resolve (or fail to resolve) idealistic familial norms and subversive subtexts. Ultimately, the presence of...

Algorithm for Extracting Loosely Structured Data Records Through Digging Strict Patterns

Extracting loosely structured data records (LSDRs) has wide applications in many domains, such as forum pattern recognition, Weblogs data analysis, and books and news review analysis. Yet currently existing methods only work well for strongly structured data records (SDRs). In this paper, we propose to address the problem of extracting LSDRs through mining strict patterns. In our method, we utilize both content feature and tag tree feature to recognize the LSDRs, and propose a new algorithm to extract the Data Records (DRs) automatically. The experimental results demonstrate that our algorithm is able to effectively extract LSDRs with higher precision and recall.

Interest Group Participation, Competition, and Conflict in the U.S. Supreme Court

In this article, we analyze how pluralistic, competitive, and conflictual interest group amicus curiae participation is in the U.S. Supreme Court. Examining participating organizations and briefs during the 1995 term, we address three inquiries. First, we scrutinize the types of organized interests who participate as amici curiae. We find that the Court is open to a wide array of interests and that particular types of groups do not dominate amicus activity. Second, we analyze the frequency with which amici file briefs on opposing sides of dispute. We reveal few strict patterns of competition, suggesting that Supreme Court cases are salient to a diverse spectrum of interest groups, many of which are not usually thought of as being in competition with one another. Third, we investigate how often and which amici directly cite one another for purposes of invalidating each other's argumentation. While amici have a great deal of opportunity for this form of direct conflict, it is surprisingly rare. Nonetheless, when amici engage in this express form of discord, they play a clear role in shaping the flow of information at the Court.