bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ETA-NUCLEAR SCATTERING PARAMETERS
Authors: NISKANEN J. A. , SIBIRTSEV A. , HAIDENBAUER J. , HANHART C.
Published: March 2005

The possibility of etamesic nuclei remains an open problem in nuclear physics until now. Various calculations give contradictory predictions even for the case of 3 He . In this paper we reanalyze and review the existing data and investigate possible limits on the binding energies and widths if a bound state exists.
MEASUREMENTS OF THE TENSOR AND VECTOR ANALYZING POWERS FOR THE d+d→3H+p AND d+d→3He+n REACTIONS AT 270 MeV
Authors: JANEK M. , SAITO T. , LADYGIN V. P. , HATANO M. , YU. ISUPOV A. , KATO H. , LADYGINA N. B. , MALAKHOV A. I. , MAEDA Y. , NEDEV S. , NISHIKAWA J. , OKAMURA H. , ONISHI T. , REZNIKOV S. G. , SAKAI H. , SAKAMOTO N. , SAKODA S. , SATOU Y. , SEKIGUCHI K. , SUDA K. , UCHIGASHIMA N. , UESAKA T. , TAMII A. , VASILIEV T. A. , YAKO K.
Published: March 2005

The experiment with polarized deuteron beam was performed at energies 140, 200 and 270 MeV at RIKEN, Japan, in December 2000. The high-momentum structure of the 3 He , 3 H and deuteron was investigated. For this purpose the angular dependence of the tensor and vector analyzing powers were measured for the reactions d + d →3 H + p and d + d →3 He + n . In this report the results on the tensor Axx, Ayy and vector Ay analyzing powers at 270 MeV are presented.
SEARCH FOR ηb IN TWO-PHOTON COLLISIONS AT LEP II WITH THE DELPHI DETECTOR
Authors: SOKOLOV ANATOLY
Published: March 2005

The pseudoscalar meson ηb has been searched for in two-photon interactions at LEP II. The data sample corresponds to a total integrated luminosity of 617 pb -1 at centre-of-mass energies ranging from 161 to 209 GeV. Upper limits at a confidence level of 95% on the product Γγγ(ηb)× BR (ηb) are 150, 450 and 660 eV /c2 for the ηb decaying into 4, 6 and 8 charged particles, respectively.
σ CHANNEL CHIRAL LOOPS IN NN INTERACTION AND TWO-PION PRODUCTION
Authors: CLEMENT H. A. , KASKULOV M. M. , DOROSHKEVICH E. A.
Published: March 2005

After examination of the correlated two-pion exchange in the NN interaction in terms of chiral pion loops in the t-channel, we consider loops in the s-channel, which get lifted on mass shell in the two-pion production process. We show that the thus obtained dynamical correlations in the σ channel lead to a quantitative description of recent exclusive measuerements near threshold.
K+ PRODUCTION FROM pp AND pd INTERACTIONS
Authors:   FOR THE ANKE COLLABORATION: For a complete collaboration list see: ., VALDAU YURY
Published: March 2005

The K+-production cross section in pn collisions is an important input parameter for model calculations of K+ production in proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus interactions. Experimental data in the close-to-threshold region are not yet available and theoretical predictions give a wide scatter of numbers for the ratio of the total cross sections [Formula: see text].

K+ production from pd interaction has been investigated using the magnetic spectrometer ANKE at COSY-Jülich at proton beam momenta 2.65, 2.81 and 3.46 GeV/c. For the extraction of [Formula: see text] from the pd data at low beam momenta, a naive phase-space approach has been used, assuming that [Formula: see text]. Double differential cross sections and missing mass spectra for proton-kaon correlations have also been analysed. Both methods give consistent result: [Formula: see text].

During a recent beam time, experimental data have been collected at pp=3.46 GeV/c for both hydrogen and deuterium targets. A ratio [Formula: see text] has been extracted from these data.
DESCRIBING NON-$Q\bar{Q}$ CANDIDATES
Authors: VIJANDE J. , FERNÁNDEZ F. , VALCARCE A.
Published: March 2005

Despite the apparent simplicity of meson spectroscopy there are some states which cannot be accommodated in the usual [Formula: see text] structure. Among them there are either exotic states as the X(1600) or the recently measured charm states [Formula: see text] and X(3872) and some of the light scalar mesons. In this work we present a possible description of these states in terms of tetraquarks.
ON THE REALIZATION OF 2D LATTICE-LADDER DISCRETE FILTERS
Authors: ANTONIOU GEORGE E.
Published: March 2005

In this paper, the one-dimensional Gray–Markel lattice-ladder discrete filter structure is extended to two dimensions (2D). The proposed 2D circuit implementation has minimal number of unit delays. Based on this circuit implementation the corresponding 2D state space realization is derived. The matrices A, b, c′ and the scalar d of the 2D state space model are presented in generalized closed form, having minimal dimension.
A TIED-MIXTURE 2D HMM FACIAL IMAGE RETRIEVAL SYSTEM
Authors: OTHMAN H. , ABOULNASR T.
Published: March 2005

In this paper, the effect of mixture tying on a second-order 2D Hidden Markov Model (HMM) is studied as applied to the face recognition problem. While tying HMM parameters is a well-known solution in the case of insufficient training data that leads to nonrobust estimation, it is used here to improve the overall performance in the small model case where the resolution in the observation space is the main problem.

The fully-tied-mixture 2D HMM-based face recognition system is applied to the facial database of AT&T and the facial database of Georgia Institute of Technology. The performance of the proposed 2D HMM tied-mixture system is studied and the expected improvement is confirmed.
COMMUNICATION SCHEDULING WITH RE-ROUTING BASED ON STATIC AND HYBRID TECHNIQUES
Authors: SURMA DAVID R. , SHA EDWIN H.-M. , PASSOS NELSON
Published: March 2005

In massively parallel systems, the performance gains are often significantly diminished by the inherent communication overhead. This overhead is caused by the required message passing resulting from the task allocation scheme. In this paper, techniques to reduce this communication overhead by both scheduling the communication and determining the routing that the messages should take within a tightly-coupled processor network are presented. Using the recently developed Collision Graph model, static scheduling algorithms are derived which work at compile-time to determine the ordering and routing of the individual message transmissions. Since a priori knowledge about the network traffic required by static scheduling may not be available or accurate, this work also considers dynamic scheduling. A novel hybrid technique is presented which operates in a dynamic environment yet uses known information obtained by analyzing the communication patterns. Experiments performed show significant improvement over baseline techniques.
DELAY ANALYSIS OF A MULTIMEDIA ATM MULTIPLEXER WITH HOMOGENEOUS ARRIVALS
Authors: NASSAR HAMED , AL MAHDI HASAN
Published: March 2005

In this paper we present a delay analysis of an ATM multiplexer handling multimedia traffic of two classes: real time class, e.g., live audio and video and nonreal time class, e.g., file transfers. Packets arrive into the multiplexer in batches of general size and are output one at a time. The arrivals are homogeneous in the sense that either the arriving batch is all class-1 packets or all class-2 packets. The multiplexer is modeled as a priority discrete time queueing system with batch arrivals and geometric service. The homogeneity of the arrivals is reflected by the addition of an indicator random variable into the model. The analysis is comprehensive in that it covers the three main delay measures: the unfinished work, the busy period and the waiting time. For these measures, probability generating functions are derived, from which moments of arbitrary orders can be obtained. However, only the first moments are obtained in the article to produce expected values. Presented at the end is a special case when the arriving batches are of Poissonian size. Some numerical values are obtained and plotted for this case.
ON FINDING A STAIRCASE CHANNEL WITH MINIMUM CROSSING NETS IN A VLSI FLOORPLAN
Authors: MAJUMDER SUBHASHIS , NANDY SUBHAS C. , BHATTACHARYA BHARGAB B.
Published: March 2005

A VLSI chip is fabricated by integrating several rectangular circuit blocks on a 2D silicon floor. The circuit blocks are assumed to be placed isothetically and the netlist attached to each block is given. For wire routing, the terminals belonging to the same net are to be electrically interconnected using conducting paths. A staircase channel is an empty polygonal region on the silicon floor bounded by two monotonically increasing (or decreasing) staircase paths from one corner of the floor to its diagonally opposite corner. The staircase paths are defined by the boundaries of the blocks. In this paper, the problem of determining a monotone staircase channel on the floorplan is considered such that the number of distinct nets whose terminals lie on both sides of the channel, is minimized. Two polynomial-time algorithms are presented based on the network flow paradigm. First, the simple two-terminal net model is considered, i.e., each net is assumed to connect exactly two blocks, for which an O(n×k) time algorithm is proposed, where n and k are respectively the number of blocks and nets on the floor. Next, the algorithm is extended to the more realistic case of multi-terminal net problem. The time complexity of the latter algorithm is O((n+k)×T), where T is the total number of terminals attached to all nets in the floorplan. Solutions to these problems are useful in modeling the repeater block placement that arises in interconnect-driven floorplanning for deep-submicron VLSI physical design. It is also an important problem in context to the classical global routing, where channels are used as routing space on silicon.
BLOCK FLOATING POINT FFT IMPLEMENTATION FOR DMT xDSL SYSTEMS
Authors: ZAHARIADIS Th. , APOSTOLACOS S. , GRAMMATIKAKIS I. , MEXIS D. , ZERVOS N. , VOGIATZIS N.
Published: March 2005

The development of multiple Discrete Multitone (DMT) Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) flavors on a single platform can benefit considerably by a programmable architecture, which feature Digital Signal Processors (DSP) and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA), especially when fast prototyping is targeted. However, the flexibility assumed to be offered by algorithmic partitioning does not automatically and proportionally simplify the digital signal processing algorithms, unless the effects of overflow/saturation in intermediate processing stages are carefully studied. The effects of overflow/saturation in intermediate stages is very critical throughout the design process, since the operations involved are nonlinear in nature and affect the most significant bits of the computational process. This paper presents an efficient soft-core implementation of a Block Floating Point FFT (BLFP) algorithm, designed for a Very high-speed DSL (VDSL) DMT systems and for the full variety of other xDSL DMT flavors, as the latter demand an extended dynamic range to achieve performance that may otherwise be only warranted by costly floating-point chip implementations.
MDG-BASED STATE ENUMERATION BY RETIMING AND CIRCUIT TRANSFORMATION
Authors: AÏT MOHAMED OTMANE , SONG XIAOYU , CERNY EDUARD , TAHAR SOFIENE , ZHOU ZIJIAN
Published: March 2005

Multiway Decision Graphs (MDGs) have recently been proposed as an efficient representation for RTL designs. In this paper, we illustrate the MDG-based formal verification technique on the example of the Island Tunnel Controller. We investigate several techniques on how to deal with the nontermination problem of abstract state exploration, including a novel method based on retiming and circuit transformation. We provide comparative experimental results for the verification of a number of properties for the example using two well-known ROBDD-based verification tools, namely, SMV (Symbolic Model Verifier) and VIS (Verification Interacting with Synthesis), and we show the strength of the MDG approach to handling arbitrary data widths.
PARTIAL ALGEBRAIC CONDITIONAL SPACES
Authors: DI NOLA ANTONIO , SCOZZAFAVA ROMANO
Published: March 2005

Conditioning plays a central role, both from a theoretical and practical point of view, in domains such as logic and probability, or rule–based expert systems. In classical approaches to probability, there is the notion of "conditional probability" P(E|H), but usually there is no meaning given to E|H itself. In 1935 de Finetti 5 was the first to mention "conditional events" outside the function P.

We shall refer to a concept of conditional event extensively discussed in 4, where the idea of de Finetti of looking at E|H, with H≠∅ (the impossible event), as a three–valued logical entity (true when both E and H are true, false when H is true and E is false, "undetermined" when H is false) is generalized (or better, in a sense, is given up) by letting the third "value" t(E, H)suitably depend on the given ordered pair(E, H) and not being just an undetermined common value for all pairs.

Here an axiomatic definition is given of Partial Algebraic Conditional Spaces (PACS), that is a set of conditional events endowed with two partial operations (denoted by ⊕ and ⊙): we then show that the structure discussed through a betting scheme in 4 (i.e., a class of particular random variables with suitable partial sum and product) is a "natural" model of a PCAS. Moreover, it turns out that the map t(E, H) can be looked on – with this choice of the two operations ⊕ and ⊙ – as a conditional probability (in its most general sense related to the concept of coherence) satisfying the classic de Finetti – Popper axioms.
SIMILARITY MEASURES BETWEEN TYPE-2 FUZZY SETS
Authors: HUNG WEN-LIANG , YANG MIIN-SHEN
Published: March 2005

In this paper, we give similarity measures between type-2 fuzzy sets and provide the axiom definition and properties of these measures. For practical use, we show how to compute the similarities between Gaussian type-2 fuzzy sets. Yang and Shih's [22] algorithm, a clustering method based on fuzzy relations by beginning with a similarity matrix, is applied to these Gaussian type-2 fuzzy sets by beginning with these similarities. The clustering results are reasonable consisting of a hierarchical tree according to different levels.
INTERVAL METHODS IN KNOWLEDGE REPRESENTATION
Authors: KREINOVICH VLADIK
Published: March 2005

This section is maintained by Vladik Kreinovich. Please send your abstracts (or copies of papers that you want to see reviewed here) to vladik@cs.utep.edu, or by regular mail to: VLADIK KREINOVICH, Department of Computer Science, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA.
CONVERGENCE OF COINED QUANTUM WALKS ON ℝd
Authors: GOTTLIEB ALEX D. , JANSON SVANTE , SCUDO PETRA F.
Published: March 2005

Coined quantum walks may be interpreted as the motion in position space of a quantum particle with a spin degree of freedom; the dynamics are determined by iterating a unitary transformation which is the product of a spin transformation and a translation conditional on the spin state. Coined quantum walks on ℤd can be treated as special cases of coined quantum walks on ℝd. We study quantum walks on ℝd and prove that the sequence of rescaled probability distributions in position space associated to the unitary evolution of the particle converges to a limit distribution.
Mechanism of vasodilation to adenosine in coronary arterioles from patients with heart disease
Authors: Sato Atsushi , Terata Ken , Miura Hiroto , Toyama Kazuyoshi , Loberiza Fausto R. , Hatoum Ossama A. , Saito Takashi , Sakuma Ichiro , Gutterman David D.
Published: March 2005

Adenosine is a key myocardial metabolite that elicits coronary vasodilation in a variety of pathophysiological conditions. We examined the mechanism of adenosine-induced vasodilation in coronary arterioles from patients with heart disease. Human coronary arterioles (HCAs) were dissected from pieces of the atrial appendage obtained at the time of cardiac surgery and cannulated for the measurement of internal diameter with videomicroscopy. Adenosine-induced vasodilation was not inhibited by endothelial denudation, but A2receptor antagonism with 3,7-dimethyl-1-propargylxanthine and adenylate cyclase (AC) inhibition with SQ22536 significantly attenuated the dilation. In contrast, A1receptor antagonism with 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine significantly augmented the sensitivity to adenosine. Moreover, dilation to A2areceptor activation with 2- p-(2-carboxyethyl)phenethylamino-5′- N-ethylcarboxamido-adenosine hydrochloride was reduced by the A1receptor agonist (2 S)- N6-(2-endo-norbornyl)adenosine. The nonspecific calcium-activated potassium (KCa) channel blocker tetrabutylammonium attenuated adenosine-induced dilation, as did the intermediate-conductance KCablocker clotrimazole. Neither the large-conductance KCablocker iberiotoxin nor small-conductance KCablocker apamin altered the dilation. In conclusion, adenosine endothelium independently dilates HCAs from patients with heart disease through a receptor-mediated mechanism that involves the activation of intermediate-conductance KCachannels via an AC signaling pathway. The roles of A1and A2receptor subtypes are opposing, with the former being inhibitory to AC-mediated dilator actions of the latter. These observations identify unique fundamental physiological characteristics of the human coronary circulation and may help to target the use of novel adenosine analogs for vasodilation in perfusion imaging or suggest new strategies for myocardial preconditioning.
Developmental expression and function of aldehyde reductase in proximal tubules of the kidney
Authors: Barski Oleg A. , Papusha Victor Z. , Ivanova Margarita M. , Rudman Dorene M. , Finegold Milton J.
Published: March 2005

Aldehyde reductase reduces a wide variety of toxic and physiological aldehydes with a marked preference for negatively charged substrates such as glucuronate. Reduction of glucuronate to gulonate is a step in inositol catabolism, a process specific to the kidney cortex. Administration of the aldehyde reductase inhibitor AL-1576 to mice increases urinary output of glucuronate and decreases output of vitamin C. Aldehyde reductase mRNA with a 319-bp 5′-untranslated region is expressed ubiquitously in murine tissues. A new isoform with a short 64-bp 5′-untranslated region is found predominantly in the kidney, resulting in 10-fold higher enzymatic activity observed in this organ compared with other tissues. A moderate level of the new transcript is found in liver, intestine, and stomach, whereas brain, heart, lung, spleen, ovary, and testis have low to insignificant levels. The short transcript is absent during embryonic development and is first observed in the murine kidney on postnatal day 6. The abundance of the short transcript and enzyme activity increase sigmoidally with age; the sharpest increase occurs during the third week of life. As shown by immunohistochemistry, aldehyde reductase expression is limited to the proximal tubules and parietal epithelium of Bowman’s capsule. In the mouse, the intensity of staining in tubules increases with age, suggesting that induction of aldehyde reductase expression is part of renal tubular maturation. The human kidney also exhibits proximal tubular localization and the two mRNA transcripts of aldehyde reductase. Immunoreactive protein is present in the 9-wk-old fetal kidney, indicating that the induction of aldehyde reductase in humans occurs early in development.
Early plateaus of power and torque gains during high- and low-speed resistance training of older women
Authors: Signorile Joseph F. , Carmel Michelle P. , Lai Shenghan , Roos Bernard A.
Published: March 2005

Periodization is the most effective approach to resistance training; however, optimal cycle lengths for older persons are not known. This study examined the durations of performance increments, plateaus, and decrements in women, ages 61–75 yr, over 9 wk of isokinetic training. After a 2-wk adaptation cycle, older women trained for either power (PWR; 4.73 rad/s; n = 9) or strength (STR; 1.05 rad/s; n = 8), 3 days/wk with a 1-day recovery between sessions. Repetitions were initially selected to equilibrate work volume between groups. Average power (AP), peak torque (PT), and total work (TW) curves were analyzed using forward and backward stepwise regression to ascertain inflections and plateaus. PWR training produced the highest AP, whereas STR produced the highest PT. TW was similar between groups. The AP curves of the PWR group initially showed a steep positive slope and then plateaued during week 3. The right leg plateau lasted throughout training, whereas the left leg showed another positive inflection during weeks 7 and 8. PWR group TW curves showed positive slopes throughout training. STR group PT curves for both legs showed initial positive slopes peaking between weeks 3 and 4 and declining thereafter. The TW curves for both legs showed slight negative slopes across the first 2 wk, steep positive slopes during weeks 3–6, and a final plateau. Because improvements plateau early during PWR and STR training, isokinetic training prescriptions for optimizing strength and power improvements in older persons should use cycles of 3–4 wk to maximize gains.
Effect of unloading on type I myosin heavy chain gene regulation in rat soleus muscle
Authors: Giger Julia M. , Haddad Fadia , Qin Anqi X. , Zeng Ming , Baldwin Kenneth M.
Published: March 2005

Slow-twitch soleus, a weight-bearing hindlimb muscle, predominantly expresses the type I myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform. However, under unloading conditions, a transition in MHC expression occurs from slow type I toward the fast-type isoforms. Transcriptional processes are believed to be involved in this adaptation. To test the hypothesis that the downregulation of MHC1in soleus muscle following unloading is controlled through cis element(s) in the proximal region of the promoter, the MHC1promoter was injected into soleus muscles of control rats and those subjected to 7 days of hindlimb suspension. Mutation analyses of six putative regulatory elements within the −408-bp region demonstrated that three elements, an A/T-rich, the proximal muscle-type CAT (βe3), and an E-box (−63 bp), play an important role in the basal level of MHC1gene activity in the control soleus and function as unloading-responsive elements. Gel mobility shift assays revealed a diminished level of complex formation of the βe3 and E-box probes with nuclear extract from hindlimb suspension soleus compared with control soleus. Supershift assays indicated that transcriptional enhancer factor 1 and myogenin factors bind the βe3 and E-box elements, respectively, in the control soleus. Western blots showed that the relative concentrations of the transcriptional enhancer factor 1 and myogenin factors were significantly attenuated in the unloaded soleus compared with the control muscle. We conclude that the downregulation of MHC1in response to unloading is due, in part, to a significant decrease in the concentration of these transcription factors available for binding the positive regulatory elements.
Molecular Physiology of Urate Transport
Authors: Hediger Matthias A. , Johnson Richard J , Miyazaki Hiroki , Endou Hitoshi
Published: March 2005

Humans excrete uric acid as the final breakdown product of unwanted purine nucleotides. Urate scavenges potential harmful radicals in our body. However, in conjunction with genetic or environmental (especially dietary) factors, urate may cause gout, nephrolitiasis, hypertension, and vascular disease. Blood levels of urate are maintained by the balance between generation and excretion. Excretion requires specialized transporters located in renal proximal tubule cells, intestinal epithelial cells, and vascular smooth muscle cells. The recently identified human urate transporters URAT1, MRP4, OAT1, and OAT3 are thought to play central roles in homeostasis and may prove interesting targets for future drug development.
The Protein Tyrosine Kinase-Dependent Pathway Mediates the Effect of K Intake on Renal K Secretion
Authors: Lin Dao-Hong , Sterling Hyacinth , Wang Wen-Hui
Published: March 2005

Dietary K intake plays an important role in the regulation of K secretion: a decrease stimulates and an increase suppresses kidney expression of protein tyrosine kinase (PTK), which plays a role in regulating Kir1.1 (ROMK), which is responsible for K secretion in the cortical collecting duct (CCD) and K recycling in the thick ascending limb. Tyrosine phosphorylation of ROMK channels increases with low dietary K and decreases with high dietary K. Moreover, stimulation of tyrosine phosphorylation of ROMK1 enhances ROMK1 internalization and reduces the K channel number in the cell surface in the CCD.
Gene expression analysis of ischemic and nonischemic cardiomyopathy: shared and distinct genes in the development of heart failure
Authors: Kittleson Michelle M. , Minhas Khalid M. , Irizarry Rafael A. , Ye Shui Q. , Edness Gina , Breton Elayne , Conte John V. , Tomaselli Gordon , Garcia Joe G. N. , Hare Joshua M.
Published: March 2005

Cardiomyopathy can be initiated by many factors, but the pathways from unique inciting mechanisms to the common end point of ventricular dilation and reduced cardiac output are unclear. We previously described a microarray-based prediction algorithm differentiating nonischemic (NICM) from ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) using nearest shrunken centroids. Accordingly, we tested the hypothesis that NICM and ICM would have both shared and distinct differentially expressed genes relative to normal hearts and compared gene expression of 21 NICM and 10 ICM samples with that of 6 nonfailing (NF) hearts using Affymetrix U133A GeneChips and significance analysis of microarrays. Compared with NF, 257 genes were differentially expressed in NICM and 72 genes in ICM. Only 41 genes were shared between the two comparisons, mainly involved in cell growth and signal transduction. Those uniquely expressed in NICM were frequently involved in metabolism, and those in ICM more often had catalytic activity. Novel genes included angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2), which was upregulated in NICM but not ICM, suggesting that ACE2 may offer differential therapeutic efficacy in NICM and ICM. In addition, a tumor necrosis factor receptor was downregulated in both NICM and ICM, demonstrating the different signaling pathways involved in heart failure pathophysiology. These results offer novel insight into unique disease-specific gene expression that exists between end-stage cardiomyopathy of different etiologies. This analysis demonstrates that transcriptome analysis offers insight into pathogenesis-based therapies in heart failure management and complements studies using expression-based profiling to diagnose heart failure of different etiologies.
Community Genetics: A Bridge between Clinical Genetics and Public Health
Authors: ten Kate Leo P.
Published: March 2005

Clinical genetics and public health differ in their subjects; in who takes the initiative; in their aims, methods and outcome measures, and therefore in their ability to handle sensitive issues. They are seemingly incompatible. Nevertheless, they can be reconciled in community genetics. Community genetics combines the best from clinical genetics and public health. It shares with clinical genetics its aim of empowerment, its methods of information and support, its outcome measures and its possibility to handle sensitive issues. It has in common with public health its subjects; the origin of its initiatives, and non-reproductive prevention. In general, communities can be defined at different levels: geographically, linguistically, socially or genetically. Genetic communities can also be defined at different levels: on the basis of common heritage, on the basis of common practice, or on the basis of common problems.
Recently Available Techniques Applicable to Genetic Problems in the Middle East
Authors: Ozand Pinar T. , Odaib Ali Al , Sakati Nadia , Al-Hellani Ali M.
Published: March 2005

In this paper, we address the preventive health aspects of genetic problems in the Middle East and provide guidelines to prioritize preventive strategies. Applications of various novel genetic techniques such as comprehensive neonatal screening, high throughput heterozygote detection, preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Affymetrix systems, the NanoChip system and a new way of sensitive karyotyping for single-cell chromosome abnormalities are discussed. In conclusion, from the various genetic techniques available, each country should adopt strategies most suitable to its genetic needs and should prioritize the programs to be used in prevention.
Reservoir Function of the Stratum corneum: Development of an in vivo Method to Quantitatively Determine the Stratum corneum Reservoir for Topically Applied Substances
Authors: Teichmann A. , Jacobi U. , Weigmann H.-J. , Sterry W. , Lademann J.
Published: March 2005

Investigations on the stratum corneum (SC) reservoir for topically applied substances are of importance in dermatologic science in order to assess the pharmacokinetics of these substances. In the present study, an in vivo method was developed to determine the SC reservoir quantitatively and to investigate the temporal behavior of this reservoir. Therefore, increasing amounts of an oil-in-water emulsion (o/w emulsion) containing 4% of a chemical UV filter were topically applied onto the flexor forearms of 5 healthy volunteers. The saturation of the SC reservoir was determined utilizing the tape stripping technique 1 and 6 h after application. The capacity of the SC reservoir for the o/w emulsion was found to be approximately 2.7 mg/cm2. Furthermore, a correlation of the capacity of the SC with transepidermal water loss was observed. Extending the time between the topical application and SC removal did not affect the distribution or the recovery rate of the UV filter in the SC. The results indicate that the reservoir of the SC is limited. This is reflected by the saturation level, which depends on the individual volunteer and, presumably, the topically applied substances and formulations used. The results show that the method developed is suited to quantitatively determine in vivo the SC reservoir for topically applied substances.
The Ugandan Government Triggers the First Test of the Complementarity Principle: An Assessment of the First State's Party Referral to the ICC
Authors: El Zeidy Mohamed
Published: March 2005

The Ugandan referral of its situation to the ICC raises some interesting legal issues that merit examination. As demonstrated in the current study, the acts committed during the current con flict in Uganda meet the requirements of the ICC jurisdiction ratione materiae, however, the problem remains that most of the acts were committed or were initiated before the Statute's entry into force. As the Court has a speci fied temporal jurisdiction, it is clear that the Court would lack jurisdiction over those acts committed before July 1, 2002. However, the question that remains is whether acts that commenced before the July 1, 2002 and continue after that date would be considered by the Court.Given the fact that Uganda is both the territorial state and the state of nationality (as deduced from section 1.1) – an unanticipated situation, some legal arguments come into play. The main issue that arises is that the self-referral implies a sort of waiver of the State to exercise complementarity. Would this be legally acceptable? And what are the consequences if the Court accepted this waiver? To what extent does such acceptance affect other admissibility provisions including the application of Article 17?
Regional Differences in Overland Rainfall Estimation from PR-Calibrated TMI Algorithm
Authors: Dinku Tufa , Anagnostou Emmanouil N.
Published: March 2005

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite carries a combination of active [precipitation radar (PR)] and multichannel passive microwave [the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI)] sensors, which advance our ability to estimate rainfall over land. Rain retrieval from the TRMM PR is associated with an unprecedented accuracy and resolution but is limited in terms of sampling because of the narrow PR swath width (215 km). TMI provides wider coverage (760 km), but its observations are associated with a more complex relationship to precipitation in comparison with PR (especially over land). The PR rain estimates are used here for calibrating an overland TMI rain algorithm. The algorithm consists of 1) multichannel-based rain screening and convective/stratiform (C/S) classification schemes, and 2) nonlinear (linear) regressions for the rain-rate retrieval of stratiform (convective) rain regimes. This study examines regional differences in the algorithm performance. Four geographic regions consisting of central Africa (AFC), the Amazon (AMZ), the U.S. southern Plains (USA), and the Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna River basin (GBM) in south Asia are selected. Data from three summer months of 2000 and 2001 are used for calibration; validation is done using summer 2002 data. The current algorithm is also compared with the latest [version 6 (V6)] TRMM 2A12 product in terms of rain detection, and rain-rate retrieval error statistics on the basis of PR reference rainfall. The performance of the algorithm is different for the different regions. For instance, the reduction in random error (relative to 2A12 V6) is about 24%, 36%, 57%, and 165% for USA, AFC, AMZ, and GBM, respectively. However, significant difference between global (the four regions combined) and regional calibration is observed only for the GBM region.
Six Nation Talks in North-East Asia
Authors: Raghavan Vyjayanti
Published: March 2005

The paper looks into the reasons why North Korea is reluctant to resume the Six Nations talks aimed at curbing its nuclear ambition, which was due in September 2004. The multilateral nature of the six nation talk has been discussed and China’s role in the negotiation process has been highlighted in the paper. It appears that because of the China factor there will be no change of regime in North Korea in face of the US pressure and it will also get enough scope to utilise its nuclear card.
The Ethics of Managing Corporate Identity
Authors: Gustavsson Bengt
Published: March 2005

This article addresses the issues of identity and ethics. Individual identity can be understood from an essence and/or constructive perspective, and organizational identity from an individual and/or strategic perspective. Three ethical dilemmas are identified in relation to human identity: construction of corporate identity, change of corporate identity, and the corporations’ role in society, summarized as the utility vs humanity dilemma. The conclusion recommends an increased focus on human values management and a process of detachment and transparency in identity issues.
The Spiritual Side of the Ethics Crisis
Authors: D. Smith Raymond
Published: March 2005

The article discusses the failure of the current positivistic and materialist business ethics paradigms to adequately deal with the enormity of the contemporary business ethics crisis. Citing behavioural research into the linkage between beliefs, values and behaviour, the author suggests spiritual renewal as a solution based on the ‘fallenness’ of mankind and the reality of human evil. The concept of faith, obedience and the resulting ‘kingdom consciousness’ (May and Whittington 2003) is explored as a basis for spiritual renewal leading to behavioural change. The process of renewal is depicted as a synergistic, mutually supportive relationship between faith and action.
CODEHOP-mediated PCR – A powerful technique for the identification and characterization of viral genomes
Authors: Rose Timothy M
Published: March 2005

Consensus-Degenerate Hybrid Oligonucleotide Primer (CODEHOP) PCR primers derived from amino acid sequence motifs which are highly conserved between members of a protein family have proven to be highly effective in the identification and characterization of distantly related family members. Here, the use of the CODEHOP strategy to identify novel viruses and obtain sequence information for phylogenetic characterization, gene structure determination and genome analysis is reviewed. While this review describes techniques for the identification of members of the herpesvirus family of DNA viruses, the same methodology and approach is applicable to other virus families.
Connexin interaction patterns in keratinocytes revealed morphologically and by FRET analysis
Authors: Di Wei-Li , Gu Yan , Common John E. A. , Aasen Trond , O'Toole Edel A. , Kelsell David P. , Zicha Daniel
Published: March 2005

Multiple connexins, the major proteins of gap junctions, have overlapping expression in the human epidermis and are postulated to have a key role in keratinocyte differentiation and homeostasis. The functional importance of connexins in the epidermis is emphasised by the association of mutations in four human connexins with various hyperproliferative skin disorders. As immunohistochemistry demonstrated overlapping expression of specific connexins in keratinocytes, we performed colocalisation analyses and applied a modified FRET methodology to assess possible heteromeric interactions between different combinations of four wild-type (wt) and mutant connexins. The data generated indicate that there is evidence for multiple connexin interactions at the plasma membrane between (wt)Cx26, (wt)Cx30 and (wt)Cx31 in keratinocytes and thus, the potential for the formation of a large number of different channel types each with different channel properties. In addition, we demonstrate that the inherent in vitro trafficking defect of the skin disease mutations (D50N)Cx26 and (G11R)Cx30 can be overcome partially by the coexpression of different wild-type connexins but this rescue does not result in large gap junction aggregates at the plasma membrane. These data indicate that skin disease associated Cx26 or Cx30 mutations are likely to disrupt a number of different channel types important in distinct aspects of keratinocyte biology.
Palmitoylation of claudins is required for efficient tight-junction localization
Authors: Van Itallie Christina M. , Gambling Todd M. , Carson John L. , Anderson James M.
Published: March 2005

Palmitoylation of integral membrane proteins can affect intracellular trafficking, protein-protein interactions and protein stability. The goal of the present study was to determine whether claudins, transmembrane-barrier-forming proteins of the tight junction, are palmitoylated and whether this modification has functional implications for the tight-junction barrier. Claudin-14, like other members of the claudin family, contains membrane-proximal cysteines following both the second and the fourth transmembrane domains, which we speculated could be modified by S-acylation with palmitic acid. We observed that [3H]-palmitic acid was incorporated into claudin-14 expressed by transfection in both cultured epithelial cells and fibroblasts. Mutation of cysteines to serines following either the second or the fourth transmembrane segments decreased the incorporation of [3H]-palmitic acid, and mutation of all four cysteines eliminated palmitoylation. We previously reported that expression of claudin-14 in epithelial monolayers results in a fivefold increase in electrical resistance. By contrast, expression of the mutant claudin-14 resulted in smaller increases in resistance. The mutants localized less well to tight junctions and were also found in lysosomes, suggesting an alteration in trafficking or stability. However, we observed no change in protein half-life and only a small shift in fractionation out of caveolin-enriched detergent-resistant membranes. Although less well localized to the tight junction, palmitoylation-deficient claudin-14 was still concentrated at sites of cell-cell contact and was competent to assemble into freeze-fracture strands when expressed in fibroblasts. These results demonstrate that palmitoylation of claudin-14 is required for efficient localization into tight junctions but not stability or strand assembly. Decreased ability of the mutants to alter resistance is probably the result of their less efficient localization into the barrier.
Caveolin-1 mediates the expression and localization of cathepsin B, pro-urokinase plasminogen activator and their cell-surface receptors in human colorectal carcinoma cells
Authors: Cavallo-Medved Dora , Mai Jianxin , Dosescu Julie , Sameni Mansoureh , Sloane Bonnie F.
Published: March 2005

Cathepsin B and pro-urokinase plasminogen activator (pro-uPA) localize to the caveolae of HCT 116 human colorectal carcinoma cells, an association mediated by active K-RAS. In this study, we established a stable HCT 116 cell line with a gene encoding antisense caveolin-1 (AS-cav-1) to examine the effects of caveolin-1, the main structural protein of caveolae, on the expression and localization of cathepsin B and pro-uPA, and their cell-surface receptors p11 and uPA receptor (uPAR), respectively. AS-cav-1 HCT 116 cells secreted less procathepsin B than control (empty vector) cells as measured by immunoblotting and pepsin activation of the proenzyme. Expression and secretion of pro-uPA was also downregulated in AS-cav-1 HCT 116 cells. Localization of cathepsin B and pro-uPA to caveolae was reduced in AS-cav-1 HCT 116 cells, and these cells expressed less total and caveolae-associated p11 and uPAR compared with control cells. Previous studies have shown that uPAR forms a complex with caveolin-1 and β1-integrin, and we here show that downregulation of caveolin-1 also suppressed the localization of β1-integrin to caveolae of these cells. Finally, downregulation of caveolin-1 in HCT 116 cells inhibited degradation of the extracellular matrix protein collagen IV and the invasion of these cells through Matrigel. Based on these results, we hypothesize that caveolin-1 affects the expression and localization of cathepsin B and pro-uPA, and their receptors, thereby mediating cell-surface proteolytic events associated with invasion of colon cancer cells.
Role of Inhaled Nitric Oxide in Adult Heart or Lung Transplant Recipients
Authors: Rea Rhonda S , Ansani Nicole T , Seybert Amy L
Published: March 2005

OBJECTIVE:

To evaluate the role of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) in adult heart or lung transplant recipients.

DATA SOURCES:

Pertinent literature was identified via a MEDLINE search (1966–July 2004).

DATA SYNTHESIS:

Pulmonary hypertension leading to right ventricular failure and ischemic reperfusion injury are complications following heart or lung transplant, respectively. A study of 16 heart transplant patients showed improvement in hemodynamic parameters and preservation of right ventricular function, but no improvement in mortality using iNO. Studies of lung transplant patients showed no benefit of iNO on mechanical ventilation duration, hospital length of stay, or mortality, but some studies indicate an improvement in hemodynamic parameters.

CONCLUSIONS:

iNO shows hemodynamic benefits in early postoperative heart transplant patients with preexisting pulmonary hypertension, and variable hemodynamic benefits in lung transplant recipients. Currently, morbidity and mortality data are not favorable for either indication; use of iNO is supportive and requires further study.
Analysis of Roughness-Induced Crack-Tip Shielding in Terms of Size Ratio Effect
Authors: Pokluda J , Šandera P , Horniková J
Published: March 2005

A new theoretical concept is introduced to describe the roughness-induced shielding effects in metallic materials. It is based on the statistics of the local ratio between the characteristic microstructure distance and the plastic zone size. Both the crack branching and the crack closure phenomena are generally described in the frame of linear elastic fracture mechanics under the assumption of the remote Mode I loading. Using this approach, intrinsic values of fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth threshold can be determined, and the roughness-induced component can be separated from other closure components, such as plasticity or oxide induced closure. In order to estimate the total RIS effect, standard material data as the yield stress, the mean grain size, the surface roughness, and the fracture mode are only necessary. Application examples concerning static fracture and fatigue are presented for UHSLA steels, ARMCO iron, aluminum, and titanium alloys.
Influence of Crack-Surface Oxidation on Creep-Fatigue Crack Behavior of 1Cr- and 10Cr-Steels
Authors: Mueller F , Scholz A , Berger C
Published: March 2005

High temperature components with notches, defects, and flaws can introduce crack initiation and crack propagation under service conditions. Fracture mechanics procedures are needed to study crack problems and to support an advanced remnant life evaluation. Since a more flexible service mode of steam power plants causes a higher number of start-up and shut-down events, creep-fatigue crack behavior is decisive for life assessment and integrity of components. Usually, fracture mechanics experiments are carried out under air conditions, although in cases of internal cracks they are not in contact with air. Therefore, it is of interest to realize the degree to which environmental conditions, e.g., crack-tip oxidation, can influence crack initiation and crack growth behavior.

In order to reveal problems related to high temperature components, the crack initiation time and crack growth rate were determined in air environment and in a gas with controlled atmosphere on 1CrMo(Ni)V- and 10CrMoWVNbN-steels. Crack initiation and propagation under creep-fatigue conditions have been described with the fracture mechanics parameters C*, KI, and ΔKI and C*. A modified “Two-Criteria-Diagram” was used to describe creep-fatigue crack initiation.
Improvements in the Measurement of Cut Protection Performance: Revisions to ASTM F 1790
Authors: Yarborough P , Schiffelbein P
Published: March 2005

Workers exposed to mechanical hazards that could cause cuts or lacerations to the hands and arms have a need to understand the cut protection performance of protective apparel. Cut protection performance of clothing can be measured using CEN 388, ASTM International standard F 1790-97, and ISO 13997. The ASTM and ISO test methods employ force-distance testers to determine the cut resistance of a material when exposed to a cutting edge under specified loads. The latter two test methods provide a process for differentiating the cut protection performance of various materials such as cotton, leather, and high performance fibers.

ASTM task group F23.20.02 sought to improve the reliability and reproducibility of the F 1790-97 standard in a way that creates a global standard for measuring cut performance, demonstrates equivalence of results between different test equipment, and reduces variability in the test method. The revised test method has been balloted by the main and sub-committees for adoption.

This paper will outline the results of extensive interlaboratory studies on the test equipment, calibration method, and calibration materials. The implications of other testing aspects on the harmonization of the standards will be described. This information will be useful for end users, distributors, and manufacturers interested in measuring the cut performance of clothing.