bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Revised Method for Estimating Design Hourly Volumes in Vermont
Authors: Byrne Bernard F.
Published: October 2007

The Traffic Research Unit of the Vermont Agency of Transportation was faced with the need to revise its method for estimating design hourly volumes. After a literature search revealed that separate methods based on seasonal variations should be used for each group of continuous traffic counters, separate methods were developed for each of the six poll groups used by the Traffic Research Unit. These are all statistically reasonable and have seen limited use in practice with reasonable results.
Dashboards for Transportation Operations
Authors: Hranac Rob , Petty Karl
Published: October 2007

Dashboards are an increasingly common method for executives in the private sector to monitor the effect of business decisions on business operations. These dashboards integrate business intelligence databases into relatively simple web-based reporting mechanisms accessible to multiple decision makers. Some states in the public-sector transportation arena have developed dashboards to monitor delivery on relatively long-term agency processes, such as project budget and schedule metrics. Few efforts have focused on monitoring relatively short-term operational performance measures. Berkeley Transportation Systems, Inc., has worked with the California Department of Transportation to develop an operational performance measure–based dashboard for transportation agency executives using the Performance Measurement System. This paper outlines an application of this dashboard to a specific agency program aimed at improving traffic detector health.
Random Count Site Selection Process for Statistically Valid Estimations of Local Street Vehicle Miles Traveled
Authors: Frawley William E.
Published: October 2007

The Texas Department of Transportation has identified the need for a more accurate estimation of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) on streets functionally classified as local. The Texas Transportation Institute developed a procedure to select traffic count sites randomly on local streets that results in a statistically valid estimation of local street VMT. The primary goal was to yield a statistically valid median traffic volume to apply to road segments on which no count is taken. This procedure involves grids overlaid on maps depicting the functional classifications of streets in a given area. All grid cells are assigned sequential numbers, and then a relative range of random numbers is generated. The actor then locates the grid cells that correspond to the randomly selected numbers in the order in which they were generated. Each time a cell that contains a local street is selected, the actor highlights it and marks a count location on the map. This process is repeated until an appropriate number of sites have been selected. Statistical analyses have determined how many count locations are necessary to provide a representative sample of traffic counts in each area, depending on the population. By an oversampling in a variety of areas, median values of observed volumes identify the number of counts at which the diminishing rate of return on the investment in the counts occurs. This procedure has resulted in median traffic count volumes on local streets that more realistically represent the variety of local streets that exist. These median volumes derived from randomly selected sites are considerably lower than the median volumes derived from historical count locations that are not randomly selected. In addition, there are now randomly selected traffic count locations in area types of some counties in which no counts were previously performed. FHWA has approved this random traffic count site selection process for use and has acknowledged it as a “most noteworthy state activity” related to estimating local street VMT ( www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/statepractices.pdf ).
Wireless Location Technology–Based Traffic Monitoring
Authors: Fontaine Michael D. , Smith Brian L. , Hendricks Aron R. , Scherer William T.
Published: October 2007

There has been a growing interest in using anonymous tracking of wireless devices as a way to generate travel time and operational data cost-effectively. Unfortunately, there are relatively few independent quantitative evaluations of these systems. Evaluations that do exist are often not widely available, so agencies often enter into deployment agreements with a limited understanding of the abilities and limitations of this technology. This paper provides an overview of the results of past deployments of wireless probe monitoring systems. It also discusses a simulation study of the predominant type of system on the market today, handoff-based monitoring systems. Past deployments show that early-generation systems encountered significant problems in generating accurate speed estimates. More recent tests using handoff-based technology have shown improvement in data quality at some sites, but there are not enough data to characterize fully whether those systems can consistently provide useful operational data. The simulation study indicates that the way in which the cellular network topology overlays the roadway network could be a critical determinant of overall system effectiveness. Simulation results indicate that often with simulated handoff-based systems speeds can be estimated to within 5 mph.
Impact of Traffic Flow on Travel Time Variability of Freeway Corridors
Authors: Tu Huizhao , Van Lint J. W. C. , Van Zuylen H. J.
Published: October 2007

Travel time variability is determined by variations in demand and capacity. Knowledge about these demand and supply factors can help improve the reliability of travel time and hence the quality of traveling. The precise nature of the relationship between, for example, variations in inflows and travel time variation is still largely unknown. This paper uses empirical traffic data from both Regiolab-Delft in the Netherlands and the Beijing Olympic area to analyze the variability of travel times depending on inflow conditions. Preliminary analysis shows that travel time variability is a function of inflow characterized by two so-called critical inflows (critical transition inflow λ1 and critical capacity inflow λ2, which are both lower than capacity). These critical inflow levels subdivide traffic into a fluent traffic region, a transition traffic region, and a capacity traffic region. Variation of inflow has little or no effect on travel time variation below λ1. But both demand and capacity variations have a positive correlation with travel time variability in between λ1 and λ2. When volumes are above λ2, the inflow slightly affects the travel time variability. Under all inflow levels, the variation in capacity appears to have more impact on travel time variability than does the variation of traffic flow.
Investigating Transferability of National Household Travel Survey Data
Authors: Mohammadian Abolfazl , Zhang Yongping
Published: October 2007

Traditionally, metropolitan planning organizations are required to have their models calibrated on a continuing basis using new data. However, new survey data required to support these models do not exist in most urban areas. That makes it difficult to calibrate existing models or develop new travel demand models using emerging modeling techniques. As a result, the need to assess potential approaches and develop knowledge on how to transfer information collected in one context and use it in another context is becoming critical. This paper presents the process of developing a model that can facilitate household travel data transferability, which can reduce or eliminate the need for large data collection in the application context. Household records from the 2001 National Household Travel Survey are clustered into several homogeneous groups representing various types of households and their lifestyles. The clustering model is based on several variables that are easily obtainable from available sources. In addition to household characteristics, the variables of land use, built environment, and transportation system characteristics are included in the analysis. Various statistical measures of travel behavior are estimated for each cluster. By using an artificial neural network model, cluster membership rules and travel statistics are transferred to other geographic areas for the purpose of comparison and validation of the transferability method.
Development of a Regional Routing Model for Strategic Waterway Analysis
Authors: Southworth Frank , Peterson Bruce , Lambert Bruce
Published: October 2007

The Navigation Economics Technologies suite of models is being developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to bring new analytic tools to the process of evaluating and planning navigation investments. A hierarchical and potentially iterative approach consisting of three levels, or tiers, has been proposed, one that moves from a broad regional and global geography in Tier 1, down to a detailed, project- and facility-specific level of detail in Tier 3. This paper describes the construction of a commodity flows database to support Tier-2 modeling. Called the regional routing model, it takes spatial disaggregations of broad regional forecasts of commodity flows to a point at which they can be assigned to specific modes and routes over the U.S. transportation network. The paper describes the model structure and how it is being tied closely to a multisource database constructed to support base year model calibration. A goal for the model is to be able to measure the effects on flows and transportation costs of changes to either the capacity of the transportation network or to the volume of goods produced and consumed. Some preliminary results are shown.
Automated Consensus-Based Data Verification in Caltrans Detector Testbed
Authors: MacCarley C. Arthur , Slonaker John
Published: October 2007

A practical need to assess the accuracy and attributes of each of the many types of roadway sensors and detectors motivated the California Department of Transportation to construct a traffic detector test bed on I-405 in Southern California. With up to 10 detectors of different types under concurrent test in each of six lanes, a means for automating the testing process became imperative because traditional human verification methods were not practical. This paper describes an automated data acquisition and verification system that uses a consensus of the results from all detectors under test, along with those of a reference image processing system, to create a preliminary ground truth record requiring manual verification for only a small percentage of ambiguous cases. Individual detector performance is then assessed by comparison with this verified data set. The test bed architecture, data fusion methodology, computer vision methods, operator interface, and performance results are discussed.
Real-Time Detection and Tracking of Vehicle Base Fronts for Measuring Traffic Counts and Speeds on Highways
Authors: Kanhere Neeraj K. , Birchfield Stanley T. , Sarasua Wayne A. , Whitney Tom C.
Published: October 2007

A real-time system is presented for automatically monitoring a highway when the camera is relatively low to the ground and on the side of the road. In such a case, occlusion and the perspective effects due to the heights of the vehicles cannot be ignored. The system presented in this paper is based on a novel technique of detecting and tracking the base fronts of vehicles. Compared with the authors’ previous approach, the proposed technique involves a simplified problem formulation, operates in real time, and requires only a small number of parameters to calibrate. Experimental results of a camera mounted at a height of 26 ft and a lateral distance of 12 ft from the edge of the pavement reveal accuracy as high as 98% with few false detections. The system can collect a variety of traffic data, including volume, time–mean speed and space–mean speed, density, vehicle classification, and lane change activities. By handling perspective effects and vehicle occlusions, the system overcomes some of the limitations of commercially available machine vision-based traffic monitoring systems that are used in many intelligent transportation systems applications.
Between the Psyche and the Social: Masculinity, Subjectivity and the First World War Veteran
Authors: Roper Michael
Published: October 2007

This article offers a critique of some recent work on gender, which, influenced by the linguistic turn, over-states the historical significance of identity. Drawing on the work of the First World War tank commander and later Kleinian psychoanalyst Wilfred Bion, the article offers some suggestions about what a history of masculinity in the First World War might look if emotional experience, rather than “identity,” was at the centre of study. Focusing on two men, one an officer and Regular soldier, the other a rank-and-file Volunteer, the article explores the emotional impact of the war on the domestic lives of veterans. The war, it argues, drew men into relationships of care that had traditionally been women's domain; in the process creating both a crisis and an opportunity for subjectivity. Many men returned home after the war with practical and emotional capacities that challenged traditional ideals of the “soldier hero.” Simultaneously, however, the widespread distress of veterans meant that women tended to be drawn back into traditional feminine roles, as nurses and mothers.
Male Social Workers and the Anxieties of Women's Authority: Boston and Minneapolis, 1920–1940
Authors: Peel Mark
Published: October 2007

In the 1920s and 1930s, the young men who worked in welfare and child protection were among the first to negotiate professional environments in which women wielded considerable authority. This article uses their descriptions of encounters with clients to examine the ways in which these men understood manliness in such a context, and the kinds of anxieties they dramatized in their case files. It argues that many defined and defended a form of masculinity that continued to depend upon the subordination of women—identified as “naggers”—and the rigorous rescue of boys from effeminacy.
The Palace of the Republic versus the Stadtschloss: The Dilemmas of Planning in the Heart of Berlin
Authors: Ledanff Susanne
Published: October 2007

On 4 July 2002, the German Bundestag had to decide on the future

of one of the capital city’s principal historical sites: the square known

as the Schlossplatz, where the Hohenzollern Palace once stood but

that since 1976 had been the site of the German Democratic Republic’s

flagship Palace of the Republic. It was not the first time that

German politicians had been called upon to decide issues relating to

art and architecture. On previous occasions votes had been taken on

the wrapping of the Reichstag by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Sir

Norman Foster’s dome, Hans Haacke’s artistic installation “Der

Bevölkerung” inside the Reichstag, and Peter Eisenman’s design for

Berlin’s Holocaust memorial.1 Their decision to rebuild the historical

palace, however, differed in that the politicians did not vote on

an architectural design, “in eigener Sache.”2 That is, it was not a

building or monument belonging to the governmental or political

sphere of the capital city but rather a site likely to house cultural

institutions. Parliamentarians, thus, were called upon to settle a

twelve-year-old planning and architectural controversy after all other

means, including architectural competitions, had failed.
The SPD, the Welfare State, and Agenda 2010
Authors: Braunthal Gerard
Published: October 2007

The German Social Democratic Party (SPD) celebrated its 140 years

of existence on 23 May 2003 with the appropriate fanfare in Berlin.

Not too many other political parties in the world can match this survival

record, especially given the hostility of Chancellor Bismarck,

who in 1878 outlawed the fledgling party as an organization for

twelve years, and of Adolf Hitler, who in 1933 drove the party into

exile for twelve years. During the post-World War II era, the SPD

reestablished itself as a major party and shared in governing the

country from 1966 to 1982 and again from 1998 to the present. It

has left an imprint on the country’s domestic and foreign policies.

But in the twenty-first century’s initial years, the SPD, despite being

in power, is facing serious problems of maintaining membership and

electoral support.
Emancipatory Entertainments: Gender in Weimar Mass Culture
Authors: Hall Sara
Published: October 2007

Vibeke Rützou Petersen, Women and Modernity in Weimar Germany: Reality and Representation in Popular Fiction (New York: Berghahn, 2001)

Richard C. McCormick, Gender and Sexuality in Weimar Modernity: Film, Literature, and “New Objectivity” (New York: Palgrave, 2001)
The Legacies of Memory: The Third Reich in Unified Germany
Authors: Wolfgram Mark A.
Published: October 2007

Bill Niven, Facing the Nazi Past: United Germany and the Legacy of the Third Reich (London: Routledge, 2002)

Siobhan Kattago, Ambiguous Memory: The Nazi Past and German National Identity (Praeger: Westport, Conn., 2001)
Political Science and Democratic Culture: Ernst Fraenkel’s Studies of American Democracy
Authors: Buchstein Hubertus
Published: October 2007

Reflecting on his academic exile in the United States, the German

political scientist Franz L. Neumann emphasized the cross-fertilization

of ideas as a result of the confrontation of different scientific and

political cultures.1 According to Neumann, the migration of hundreds

of European academics to the United States led to a growing

internationalization of the social sciences and a two-way learning

process. The Europeans became accustomed to the practice of the

American liberal democracy and learned to value its political culture;

émigré scholars, on the other hand, brought with them a different

academic Denkstil and contributed to a more critical self-understanding

of American democratic theory.
The Influence of Political Culture upon Cross-Cultural Misperceptions and Foreign Policy: The United States and Germany
Authors: Kalberg Stephen
Published: October 2007

The disagreement between Germany and the United States over the

war in Iraq was massive. During the winter of 2002, many observers

spoke of a long-term rift between these longstanding allies and a

total loss of credibility on both sides. No one can doubt, regardless

of recent healing overtures,1 that the German-American partnership

has been altered and significantly weakened. It has suffered a blow

far more damaging than those that accompanied past conflicts over,

for example, Ostpolitik, the neutron bomb, the Soviet gas pipeline,

the flow of high technology products to the Soviet Union, the imposition

of trade sanctions in 1980 against the military government in

Poland, the stationing in the late 1970s of middle-range missiles on

German soil, and the modernization of short-range missiles in 1989.
Eastern German Film, 1945-2000
Authors: Epstein Catherine
Published: October 2007

Joshua Feinstein, The Triumph of the Ordinary: Depictions of Daily Life in the East German Cinema, 1949-1989 (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2002)

Leonie Naughton, Film Culture, Unification, and the “New” Germany (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2002)
The Politics of Physical Culture and German Nationalism:Turnen versus English Sports and French Olympism, 1871-1914
Authors: Merkel Udo
Published: October 2007

The 2002 Soccer World Cup in Japan took place during the final

phase of the national election campaign for the German Bundestag

and managed to temporarily unite Chancellor Gerhard Schröder

(SPD) and his conservative challenger, Edmund Stoiber1. Both were

keen to demonstrate repeatedly that they were so interested in the

progress of the German team that they simultaneously interrupted or

left meetings to follow televised matches. Domestically, they support

very different soccer clubs. Stoiber is on the board of directors of the

richest German club, Bayern Munich, whose past successes, wealth

and arrogance, numerous scandals, and boardroom policies of hireand-

fire have divided the German soccer nation: they either hate or

adore the team. Schröder is a keen fan and honorary member of

Borussia Dortmund, which is closely associated with the industrial

working class in the Ruhr area. It is the only team on par with

Munich; despite its wealth, the management policies of the club

appear modest and considerate; the club continuously celebrates its

proletarian traditions and emphasizes its obligations to the local

community. Stoiber’s election manifesto did not even mention sport,

whereas the SPD’s political agenda for sport focused upon a wide

variety of issues ranging from welfare, leisure, physical education,

and health to doping, television coverage, facilities, and hosting

international events.
Representation, Identity, Recognition: The Politics of Immigrant Incorporation in the Federal Republic of Germany
Authors: Brady John S.
Published: October 2007

Riva Kastoryano, Negotiating Identities: States and Immigrants in France and Germany, trans. Barbara Harshav (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002)

Zafer Senocak, Atlas of a Tropical Germany: Essays on Politics and Culture, 1990-1998, trans. and ed. Leslie Adelson (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2000)
The Likable Winner versus the Competent Loser: Candidate Images and the German Election of 2002
Authors: Anderson Christopher J. , Brettschneider Frank
Published: October 2007

Although the German constitution does not provide for the direct

election of the head of the executive branch by the people, the preeminent

position of the federal chancellor has long tempted commentators

to describe the German political system as a “chancellor

democracy.”1 Based on this characterization, one might be tempted

to assume that the German election of 2002 was therefore about

electing a chancellor. To be sure, if voters could have voted for the

chancellor directly in 2002, Gerhard Schröder would have easily

defeated Edmund Stoiber. Yet, despite public opinion polls that never

once showed the challenger outpolling the chancellor throughout the

entire election year, the election turned out to be a cliffhanger.
A New Start and “Renewal” for Germany? Policies and Politics of the Red-Green Government, 1998-2002
Authors: Reutter Werner
Published: October 2007

According to Jürgen Habermas, the federal election in 1998 finally

“sealed” the democratic foundation of Germany and confirmed that

this country belonged to the “west.”1 Until then, the day of judgment

had left the “judges” in Germany—that is, the voters—with only limited

influence in coalition building and the formation of each government.

2 Between 1949 and 1998 no federal government has totally

been unsettled by elections. Changes in government were due to

changes in coalitions, thus based on decisions by the parties rather

than on the electorate. Insofar as the landslide victory of the Social

Democratic Party and the Alliance ‘90/Greens in the 1998 election

not only reflected important changes in the party system, but it also

could mean that the German electorate is going to play a more influential

role in the future.
The Federal Election of 2002
Authors: Rohrschneider Robert , Wolf Michael R.
Published: October 2007

During the summer of campaign year 2002, the election already

seemed lost for the SPD/Green government. Public opinion polls

saw the governing coalition trailing by several percentage points,

whereas the CDU/CSU, together with the FDP, looked like the sure

winner. A central reason for the malaise of the red-green government

was the ailing economy. Unemployment rates hovered at the 4

million mark and would have been even higher if governmentfunded

jobs had been added to the official unemployment rates.

Consequently, a substantial majority of citizens considered the creation

of jobs Germany’s most important problem.1 This constituted

an especially severe burden for Chancellor Schröder. In 1998 he had

promised to push unemployment rates below 3.5 million or, he

stated, he did not deserve re-election. Thus, many observers and

voters expected the September 2002 election to be a referendum on

the governments’ handling of the economy. Since the chancellor had

not delivered, voters were about to vote the incumbent government

out of office.
Party Finance Scandals and their Consequences in the 2002 Election: Paying for Mistakes?
Authors: Scarrow Susan E.
Published: October 2007

The issue of political finance crucially shaped German political

dynamics in the first three years of the 1998-2002 legislative period.

By the year 2000 political finance scandals were being labeled the

“dominant theme in German politics.”1 Scarcely a year into the first

red-green government, the national political mood was crucially

transformed by the repercussions of a political finance scandal that

unseated leading figures in the CDU. These scandals, and the ensuing

upheaval within the CDU, gave the faltering red-green coalition

a chance to regroup after its weak start in office, so that at one point

it seemed that the CDU’s ongoing embarrassments all but guaranteed

a victory for the red-green coalition in 2002.
The Red-Green Victory: Against All Odds?
Authors: Norpoth Helmut , Gschwend Thomas
Published: October 2007

Picking winners in electoral contests is a popular sport in Germany,

as in many places elsewhere. During the 2002 campaign for the

Bundestag, pre-election polls tracked the horse race of party support

almost daily. Election junkies were invited to enter online sweepstakes.

They could also bet real money, albeit in limited quantity, on

the parties’ fortunes on WAHL$TREET, a mock stock market run

by Die Zeit and other media. As usual, election night witnessed the

race of the networks to project the winner the second the polls

where voters had cast their ballots closed. But in 2002, there was

also one newcomer in the business of electoral prophecy: a statistical

forecast based on insights from electoral research.
Comprehending Trauma and its Aftermath
Authors: Langenbacher Eric
Published: October 2007

Robert Gellately and Ben Kiernan, eds., The Specter of Genocide: Mass Murder in Historical Perspective (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003)

Jan-Werner Müller, ed., Memory and Power in Post-War Europe: Studies in the Presence of the Past (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002)
Still Yearning for the Lost Heimat? Ethnic German Expellees and the Politics of Belonging
Authors: Süssner Henning
Published: October 2007

As a result of Nazi race politics, World War II, and the restructuring

of Europe in the postwar era, the painful experience of forced migration

became a reality in the lives of many Europeans. About 12 million1

ethnic Germans shared the fate of being forced to leave their

ancestral areas of settlement in Eastern and Eastern/Central Europe

between 1939 and 1948. These people were either forced to move

“back to the Reich” by the Nazi government, fled from advancing

enemy forces in 1944/45, or were forced out of their homes by Eastern

and Central European postwar governments.
Screening the East, Probing the Past: The Baltic Sea in Contemporary German Cinema
Authors: Ludewig Alexandra
Published: October 2007

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, unification, and the subsequent reinvention

of the nation, German filmmakers have revisited their

country’s cinematic traditions with a view to placing themselves creatively

in the tradition of its intellectual and artistic heritage. One of

the legacies that has served as a point of a new departure has been

the Heimatfilm, or homeland film. As a genre it is renowned for its

restorative stance, as it often features dialect and the renunciation of

current topicality, advocates traditional gender roles, has antimodern

overtones of rural, pastoral, often alpine, images, and expresses

a longing for premodern times, for “the good old days” that supposedly

still exist away from the urban centres. The Nazis used Heimat

films in an effort “to idealize ‘Bauerntum’ as the site of desirable traditions

and stereotyped the foreign (most often the urban) as the

breeding ground for moral decay.”
Situating a German Self in Democratic Community: Greek Tragedy and German Identity in Christa Wolf’s Mythic Works
Authors: Pirro Robert
Published: October 2007

In times of political or social crisis, issues of identity and affiliation

tend to become more salient. In response to the threatened or actual

disruption of the routines of material provision, social order, and

ideological legitimation, definitions of self and community that had

formerly been considered authoritative come under more frequent

and more extensive questioning. Responses to this condition of

uncertainty and doubt about identity and affiliation are typically

forthcoming from many different quarters: party politicians, leaders

of social movements, public intellectuals, religious authorities. Such

responses can also be quite varied as was the case, for example, in

the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Only months after the

event and with major questions about the future of the two Germanies

in the air, Jürgen Habermas surveyed the various possible sources of German identity that were on offer at that time—economic prestige

(“DM nationalism”), cultural inheritance, linguistic unity, ethnic

descent, historical fate, aesthetic experience, and constitutional patriotism—

and found all but the last seriously wanting.3 In any given

episode of crisis and questioning, most responses will ultimately

have little or no effect; the eventual reestablishment of the routines

of provision, order, and legitimation usually means that one or

another set of definitions of self and community has won out and

become authoritative for a critical mass of citizens.
The New Paradigms of German Film Studies
Authors: Mennel Barbara
Published: October 2007

Tim Bergfelder, Erica Carter, and Deniz Göktürk, eds., The German Cinema Book (London: British Film Institute, 2002)

Lutz Koepnick, The Dark Mirror: German Cinema between Hitler and Hollywood (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002)
Agenda 2010: Redefining German Social Democracy
Authors: Camerra-Rowe Pamela
Published: October 2007

In March 2003, Social Democratic Chancellor Gerhard Schröder

announced a series of reforms that his government plans to undertake

in order to deal with Germany’s pressing economic problems.

These reform proposals, known as Agenda 2010, include cutting

unemployment benefits, making it easier to hire and fire workers,

reducing health insurance coverage, and raising the retirement age.

The reforms mark a change in the direction of the German Social

Democratic Party’s (SPD) economic policy. Rather than promoting

traditional social democratic values such as collective responsibility,

workers’ rights, and the expansion of state benefits, Schröder declared

that “We will have to curtail the work of the state, encourage more

individual responsibility, and require greater individual performance

from each person. Every group in the society will have to contribute

its share.”1 Despite opposition to these reforms by labor unions and

leftist members of the party, Agenda 2010 was approved by nearly 90

percent of SPD party delegates at a special party conference in June

2003.2 Several of the reforms, including health care and job protection

reforms, were passed by the legislature at the end of 2003 and

took effect on 1 January 2004.
Alternative stripper configurations for CO2 capture by aqueous amines
Authors: Oyenekan Babatunde A. , Rochelle Gary T.
Published: October 2007

Aqueous absorption/stripping is a promising technology for the capture of CO2 from existing or new coal‐fired power plants. Four new stripper configurations (matrix, internal exchange, flashing feed, and multipressure with split feed) have been evaluated with seven model solvents that approximate the thermodynamic and rate properties of 7m (30 wt %) monoethanolamine (MEA), potassium carbonate promoted by piperazine (PZ), promoted MEA, methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) promoted by PZ, and hindered amines. The results show that solvents with high heats of absorption (MEA, MEA/PZ) favor operation at normal pressure. The relative performance of the alternative configurations is matrix > internal exchange > multipressure with split feed > flashing feed. MEA/PZ and MDEA/PZ are attractive alternatives to 7m MEA. The best solvent and process configuration, matrix with MDEA/PZ, offers 22 and 15% energy savings over the baseline and improved baseline, respectively, with stripping and compression to 10 MPa. The energy requirement for stripping and compression to 10 MPa is about 20% of the power output from a 500 MW power plant with 90% CO2 removal. © 2007 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2007
MECP2 deletions and genotype–phenotype correlation in Rett syndrome
Authors: Scala Elisa , Longo Ilaria , Ottimo Federica , Speciale Caterina , Sampieri Katia , Katzaki Eleni , Artuso Rosangela , Mencarelli Maria Antonietta , D'Ambrogio Tatiana , Vonella Giuseppina , Zappella Michele , Hayek Giuseppe , Battaglia Agatino , Mari Francesca , Renieri Alessandra , Ariani Francesca
Published: October 2007

Rett syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder that represents one of the most common genetic causes of mental retardation in girls. MECP2 point mutations in exons 2–4 account for about 80% of classic Rett cases and for a lower percentage of variant patients. We investigated the genetic cause in 77 mutation‐negative Rett patients (33 classic, 31 variant, and 13 Rett‐like cases) by searching missed MECP2 defects. DHPLC analysis of exon 1 and MLPA analysis allowed us to identify the defect in 17 Rett patients: one exon 1 point mutation (c.47_57del) in a classic case and 16 MECP2 large deletions (15/33 classic and 1/31 variant cases). One identical intragenic MECP2 deletion, probably due to gonadal mosaicism, was found in two sisters with discordant phenotype: one classic and one “highly functioning” preserved speech variant. This result indicates that other epigenetic or genetic factors, beside MECP2, may contribute to phenotype modulation. Three out of 16 MECP2 deletions extend to the adjacent centromeric IRAK1 gene. A putative involvement of the hemizygosity of this gene in the ossification process is discussed. Finally, results reported here clearly indicate that MECP2 large deletions are a common cause of classic Rett, and MLPA analysis is mandatory in MECP2‐negative patients, especially in those more severely affected (P = 0.044). © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Synthesis and characterization of poly(ether‐block‐amide) membranes for the pervaporation of organic/aqueous mixtures
Authors: Mohammadi Toraj , Kikhavandi Towan , Moghbeli Mohammadreza
Published: October 2007

We made poly(ether‐block‐amide) membranes by casting a solution on a nonsolvent surface. The effects of the solvent ratio (n‐butanol/isopropyl alcohol), temperature, and polymer concentration on the quality of the membranes were studied. The results show that the film quality was enhanced with increasing isopropyl alcohol ratio in the solvent. This behavior was related to the reduction of the solution surface tension and the interfacial tension between the solution and nonsolvent. Uniform films were made at a temperature range of 70–80°C and a polymer concentration of 4–7 wt %. The morphology of the membranes was investigated with scanning electron microscopy. The qualities of the films improved with increasing isopropyl alcohol ratio in the solvent. With these membranes, the pervaporation of ethyl butyrate (ETB)/water and isopropyl alcohol/water mixtures was studied, and high separation performance was achieved. For ETB/water mixtures, with increasing ETB content, both the permeation flux and separation factor increased. However, for isopropyl alcohol/water mixtures, with increasing isopropyl alcohol content, the permeation flux increased, but the separation factor was diminished. Increasing temperature in a limited range resulted in a decreasing separation factor and an increasing permeation flux. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
Thermal degradation kinetics of epoxy/organically modified montmorillonite nanocomposites
Authors: Brnardić Ivan , Macan Jelena , Ivanković Hrvoje , Ivanković Marica
Published: October 2007

Nanocomposites based on a commercial epoxy resin and organically modified montmorillonites (OMMTs), containing 5 and 10 phr OMMT, were prepared and characterized. Poly(oxypropylene) diamine (Jeffamine D400) and octadecylamine were used as organic modifiers. Another poly(oxypropylene) diamine (Jeffamine D230) was used as a curing agent. The thermal degradation kinetics of the neat resin system and nanocomposites were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis. The dispersion of silicate layers within the crosslinked epoxy matrix was verified by transmission electron microscopy. The activation energy of degradation for the investigated systems was determined by the isoconversional Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose method. The thermal behavior of the neat resin systems and nanocomposites was modeled with an empirical kinetic model. The influence of organic modifiers and the OMMT loading on the thermal stability of the nanocomposites was discussed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. JAppl Polym Sci, 2008
Vascular Arrangement and Ultrastructure of the European Eelpout Zoarces viviparus Ovary: Implications for Maternal–Embryonic Exchange
Authors: Skov Peter Vilhelm , Sorensen Thomas Flarup , Ramlov Hans , Steffensen John Fleng
Published: October 2007

The structural basis for exchange between maternal serum and ovarian fluid in the viviparous teleost Zoarces viviparus was investigated. Casts of the ovarian vasculature showed that blood supply to the ovary is initially directed to the follicular appendages lining the ovarian wall through thick‐walled muscular arteries running along the ovary wall and within the follicular appendages. The follicles had a rich capillary network with diffusion distances between maternal blood and ovarian fluid comparable to those found for gill epithelia, suggesting this is the primary site of gas exchange between maternal plasma and ovarian fluid. Follicular capillary beds were continuous with those in the ovary wall and were eventually drained by the ovarian and intestinal venous systems. The barrier between ovarian fluid and maternal blood consisted of the endothelial cells of the maternal blood vessels and a layer of epithelial cells lining the ovarian lumen, with an intermittent layer of loose connective fibers. Junctional complexes between cells were predominantly anchoring junctions with the occurrence of occasional occluding junctions, supporting the possibility of paracellular transport from maternal serum to ovarian fluid of small molecular weight compounds. Heavy investment in keratin filaments suggests that follicles are tissues of high structural integrity. Evidence for protein synthesis in the ovarian lining was found in the form of Golgi apparatus and rough endoplasmic reticulum. Although numerous cytoplasmic vacuoles and secretory granules were present in both epithelial and endothelial cells, the fate of synthesized protein remains to be determined. Anat Rec, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Type I interferon–inducible gene expression in blood is present and reflects disease activity in dermatomyositis and polymyositis
Authors: Walsh Ronan J. , Kong Sek Won , Yao Yihong , Jallal Bahija , Kiener Peter A. , Pinkus Jack L. , Beggs Alan H. , Amato Anthony A. , Greenberg Steven A.
Published: October 2007

Objective

To apply gene expression profiling to the study of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with inflammatory myopathies, in order to provide insight into disease pathogenesis and identify potential biomarkers associated with disease activity.

Methods

We used Affymetrix whole‐genome microarrays to measure the expression of ∼38,500 genes in 65 blood and 15 muscle samples from 44 patients with dermatomyositis (DM), polymyositis (PM), inclusion body myositis (IBM), myasthenia gravis, or genetically determined myopathies and from 12 healthy volunteers. In 9 patients, 2 samples were obtained at different time points, when disease was either active or improving, and these paired blood samples were also compared. Bioinformatics techniques were used to identify genes with significant differential expression among diagnostic categories and in relation to disease activity. We corroborated the microarray data with quantitative real‐time reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction.

Results

Most patients with active DM or PM, but not patients with IBM, had significant and high up‐regulation of the type I interferon‐α/β (IFNα/β)–inducible genes in blood. Furthermore, the up‐regulation of these genes correlated with disease activity in DM and PM, with down‐regulation occurring when disease was controlled with treatment.

Conclusion

DM and PM are diseases characterized by the systemic overexpression of IFNα/β‐inducible genes. The magnitude of the overexpression of these genes is higher in DM and correlates with disease activity in both disorders. Although PM and IBM have been modeled as having similar immunologic processes occurring within muscle, there are substantial differences in the expression of IFNα/β‐inducible genes in blood in these diseases.
Activin A is an anticatabolic autocrine cytokine in articular cartilage whose production is controlled by fibroblast growth factor 2 and NF‐κB
Authors: Alexander Susan , Watt Fiona , Sawaji Yasunobu , Hermansson Monika , Saklatvala Jeremy
Published: October 2007

Objective

Proteomic analysis has previously shown that activin A, a member of the transforming growth factor β family, is produced by human articular cartilage. This study was undertaken to investigate whether activin A affects cartilage matrix catabolism and how its production is regulated.

Methods

The effect of exogenous activin A on interleukin‐1–induced aggrecanase‐generated neoepitope production was assessed by Western blotting, using medium from human cartilage explants. Levels of activin A production were determined by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. For genes of interest, messenger RNA (mRNA) induction in cartilage explants or primary chondrocyte monolayers was assessed by reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction. Activin A activity in cartilage explant medium was measured by incubating it with human dermal fibroblasts and determining the increase in phospho‐Smad2 by Western blotting.

Results

Activin A (1–10 ng/ml) suppressed aggrecanase‐mediated cleavage of aggrecan in human articular cartilage. Activin A mRNA and protein secretion were induced by dissection and culture of human or porcine articular cartilage. This activin A was biologically active. Its production was due to an active cellular process and was enhanced in osteoarthritic (OA) tissue. Activin A production on dissection was reduced by 80% by the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor inhibitor PD173074 and by 70% by the IKK inhibitor BMS345541.

Conclusion

Activin A is potentially an anticatabolic molecule in articular cartilage. Its expression is induced by wounding in an FGF‐2– and NF‐κB–dependent manner. OA cartilage produced more activin A than did normal cartilage in vitro.
Salivary proteomic and genomic biomarkers for primary Sjögren's syndrome
Authors: Hu Shen , Wang Jianghua , Meijer Jiska , Ieong Sonya , Xie Yongming , Yu Tianwei , Zhou Hui , Henry Sharon , Vissink Arjan , Pijpe Justin , Kallenberg Cees , Elashoff David , Loo Joseph A. , Wong David T.
Published: October 2007

Objective

To identify a panel of protein and messenger RNA (mRNA) biomarkers in human whole saliva (WS) that may be used in the detection of primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS).

Methods

Mass spectrometry and expression microarray profiling were used to identify candidate protein and mRNA biomarkers of primary SS in WS samples. Validation of the discovered mRNA and protein biomarkers was also demonstrated using real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunoblotting techniques.

Results

Sixteen WS proteins were found to be down‐regulated and 25 WS proteins were found to be up‐regulated in primary SS patients compared with matched healthy control subjects. These proteins reflected the damage of glandular cells and inflammation of the oral cavity system in patients with primary SS. In addition, 16 WS peptides (10 up‐regulated and 6 down‐regulated in primary SS) were found at significantly different levels (P < 0.05) in primary SS patients and controls. Using stringent criteria (3‐fold change; P < 0.0005), 27 mRNA in saliva samples were found to be significantly up‐regulated in the primary SS patients. Strikingly, 19 of 27 genes that were found to be overexpressed were interferon‐inducible or were related to lymphocyte filtration and antigen presentation known to be involved in the pathogenesis of primary SS.

Conclusion

Our preliminary study has indicated that WS from patients with primary SS contains molecular signatures that reflect damaged glandular cells and an activated immune response in this autoimmune disease. These candidate proteomic and genomic biomarkers may improve the clinical detection of primary SS once they have been further validated. We also found that WS contains more informative proteins, peptides, and mRNA, as compared with gland‐specific saliva, that can be used in generating candidate biomarkers for the detection of primary SS.
Association of reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediate and complement levels with apoptosis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in lupus patients
Authors: Oates James C. , Farrelly Libby W. , Hofbauer Ann F. , Wang Wei , Gilkeson Gary S.
Published: October 2007

Objective

Both increased production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediates (RONI) and reduced levels of complement may play a role in the increased apoptosis and reduced clearance of apoptotic cells in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The objective of this study was to evaluate both processes in a parallel, prospective, longitudinal manner.

Methods

Sixty‐seven SLE patients were evaluated during multiple visits, and 31 healthy control subjects were evaluated once or twice. Clinical and laboratory features of SLE disease activity were determined, and blood was collected for measurement of serum nitrate plus nitrite (NOx) levels and for isolation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). PBMCs were cultured with a nitric oxide (NO) donor and SLE or control plasma, with or without heat inactivation, cobra venom factor (CVF), or lipopolysaccharide plus interferon‐γ treatment. Cells were analyzed for apoptotic index (AI), cellular subsets, and RONI production.

Results

The PBMC AI was associated with SLE and was inversely associated with complement levels over time. Changes in the AI with addition of a NO donor was longitudinally associated with serum NOx levels, and stimulation of SLE PBMCs led to parallel increases in RONI production and apoptosis. Addition of SLE plasma resulted in a greater PBMC AI, an effect that was increased with heat inactivation and was corrected with CVF treatment.

Conclusion

These data suggest that the greater AI observed in SLE PBMCs relates to increased PBMC RONI production and reduced complement levels. The longitudinal nature of these parallel associations within individuals suggests that these processes are dynamic and additive.