bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Liberal Jurisprudence, Labor Tribunals, and Mexico's Supreme Court, 1917–1924
Authors: James T. M.
Published: August 2010

Within the last decade there has been a resurgence of scholarly interest in Mexican legal topics that relate to the Porfirian (1876–1910) and Mexican Revolutionary (1910–1940) periods, an especially formative time in the history of modern Mexican law. As Peter Reich has recently written, the great merit of this new literature has been to treat the law in its “social context,” a commonplace of legal studies in the United States, but one not typical of traditional approaches to modern Mexican legal history, which have “focused narrowly on code or other legislative changes.” Unfortunately, these methodological gains of recent years have not yet been applied to the history of Mexico's Supreme Court or its system of judicial review. One of the barriers to renewed interest in this area as a legal-historical topic, no doubt, has been the characterization of supreme courts in Latin America in general, and Mexico in particular, as “dependent, weak, parochial, conservative and decisionally unimportant.”
Rashes, Rights, and Wrongs in the Hospital and in the Courtroom: German Measles, Abortion, and Malpractice beforeRoeandDoe
Authors: Reagan Leslie J.
Published: August 2010

When women contracted German measles in early pregnancy, they were “entitled” to therapeutic abortion, according to one 1959 magazine.Williams Obstetrics, the standard medical textbook, advised doctors that therapeutic abortion was “justifiable” in such cases if the pregnant woman and her husband decided upon it. German measles (also known as rubella) was first recognized as a teratogen by an Australian ophthalmologist in 1941. Exposure to the disease in early pregnancy could damage the developing fetus, causing deafness, blindness, heart defects, and mental retardation in newborns as well as miscarriages, stillbirths, and infant deaths. Aware of the disease's effects, thousands of pregnant women who contracted German measles avidly sought abortions. Yet, as many learned in the 1950s and 1960s, the decision to carry a possibly affected pregnancy or have a therapeutic abortion was not clearly in their hands at all. Physicians refused to perform therapeutic abortions, their legality was uncertain, and hospital policies were designed to limit their numbers. An unknown number of women who knew they had contracted the disease and understood the implications were denied therapeutic abortions, and later gave birth to severely harmed children. Some of them sued their doctors for malpractice. Barbara Stewart and Sandra Gleitman, with their husbands, brought two early cases,Gleitman v. Cosgrove(1967) andStewart v. Long Island College Hospital(1970 and 1972).
Control over Marriage in England and Wales, 1753–1823: The Clandestine Marriages Act of 1753 in Context
Authors: Probert Rebecca
Published: August 2010

It is a belief almost universally shared that the Clandestine Marriages Act of 1753 gave parents absolute control over the marriages of their minor children, and that a failure to obtain parental consent rendered a marriage void. For almost seventy years this Act was in force, from its implementation on March 25, 1754, until it was repealed by the Marriage Act 1823. In this same period historians have discerned the rise of the affective family, characterized by marriage for love and by equality between all members of the family. The tension between these two ideas has resulted in some rather tortuous explanations being advanced in an attempt to reconcile affective individualism and parental power. But was the period between 1754 and 1823 as distinctive as has been assumed?
Charles Evans Hughes and the Strange Death of Liberal America
Authors: Henretta James A.
Published: August 2010

“Liberalism! Not in all history has a word been so wrenched away from its true meaning and dragged through the gutter of defilement,” the Wilsonian Progressive George Creel protested angrily in a memoir of 1947: “Where it once stood for the dignity of man, … it now stands for the obliteration of individualism at the lands of a ruthless, all-powerful state.” For nearly fifty years, most scholars have given little heed to the rage vented by Creel and other critics of New Deal “liberalism.” Amidst the expansion of the American welfare state, the outlook and ideas of the anti-New Dealers seemed at best naively outdated and at worst positively pernicious. History—in the form of an increasingly massive, paternalist, neo-mercantilist, bureaucratic state—seemed to be firmly on the side of those who advocated the expansion of federal authority over more aspects of American life.
The Not-So-Strange Birth of the Modern American State: A Comment on James A. Henretta's “Charles Evans Hughes and the Strange Death of Liberal America”
Authors: Novak William J.
Published: August 2010

James Henretta's “Charles Evans Hughes and the Strange Death of Liberal America” takes up one of the most interesting and important interpretive questions in the history of American political economy. What explains the dramatic transformation in liberal ideology and governance between 1877 and 1937 that carried the United States from laissez-faire constitutionalism to New Deal statism, from classical liberalism to democratic social-welfarism? That question has preoccupied legions of historians, political-economists, and legal scholars (as well as politicians and ideologues) at least since Hughes himself opened the October 1935 Term of the U.S. Supreme Court in a brand new building and amid a rising chorus of constitutional criticism. Henretta, wisely in my opinion, looks to law, particularly public law, for new insights into that great transformation. But, of course, the challenge in using legal history to answer such a question is the enormous increase in the actual policy output of courts, legislatures, and administrative agencies in this period. Trying to synthesize the complex changes in “law-in-action” in the fiercely contested forums of turn-of-the-century America sometimes seems the historical-sociological equivalent of attempting to empty the sea with a slotted spoon. Like any good social scientist, Henretta responds to the impossibility of surveying the whole by taking a sample. Through a case-study of the ideas, political reforms, and legal opinions of Charles Evans Hughes, particularly as governor of New York and associate and chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Henretta offers us in microcosm the story of the revolution (or rather several revolutions) in modern American governance.
In Defense of Traditional Stories and Labels
Authors: Henretta James A.
Published: August 2010

Forums are not for the faint of heart. My critics offer a searching analysis of my approach and arguments. William Novak questions the basic assumptions and methods of my article; indeed, he dismisses it out of hand as a well-known “traditional” story told in an equally traditional “narrative” fashion. Somewhat more graciously, Daniel Rodgers contests the validity of some of its arguments; more fundamentally, he disputes the legitimacy—at least for a “normal” political actor such as Charles Evans Hughes—of an ideological frame of reference. Just tell the (traditional) story, he says; come to grips with the man and forget the labels. For his part, William Forbath largely accepts my conceptualization but disputes my contention that the traditional liberal state died in 1937. Rather, he argues, the post–New Deal American state was deeply informed by Hughes's “lawyerly” brand of “transitional” liberalism, which balanced a “progressive” commitment to reform and administrative state-building with a “classical” regard for dual federalism and the primacy of courts and common law. Finally, Risa Goluboff contests my suggestion, via Hilaire Belloc, that the new constitutional order subordinated individual economic rights to the interests of the national state and the elites that control it. The quest for economic rights remained strong, she suggests, until the onset of the Cold War, which limited the reach of the American welfare state, and theBrowndecision, which gave a racial (and, eventual, gender) definition to liberal reform.
Conflict, Letters, and Personal Relationships in the Carolingian Formula Collections
Authors: Brown Warren
Published: August 2010

Over the last few decades, scholarship on early medieval conflict has been driven and shaped by the kinds of sources that scholars have used. The different source genres offer their own characteristic pictures of the ways that people processed disputes in the early Middle Ages. Narrative sources, for example, such as chronicles or saints' lives, tend in the process of achieving their narrative orhagiographic goals to highlight violence, extra-judicial settlement, and the ritual or symbolic expression of disputes and disputeresolution. Normative sources, such as law codes or royal legislation (for example, the capitularies issued by Carolingian kings), naturally emphasize institutional tools for handling conflict, such as formal judicial assemblies and judicial procedures, royal judicial officials, and laws. Archival sources from the period consist primarily of charters, that is, records of rights or privilege ranging from diplomas issued by kings and emperors to the property records of churches andmonasteries. These tend to blend the images produced by the first two source genres. Often they record the formal resolution of propertydisputes in judicial assemblies headed by kings, counts, or their representatives; often they refer to laws or imply that the cases theydeal with were covered by some generally recognized set of norms. Charters also, however, provide a great deal of evidence for extra-judicial negotiation and settlement, as well as for ritual and public symbolic communication as a part of dispute processing.
The Hidden Story—Violence and the Law in Guatemala
Authors: Piccato Pablo
Published: August 2010

Like all good historical research, “Gloria's story” raises more questions than it can answer. My reaction to the article, which I initially shared with the author as an anonymous reviewer forLaw and History Review, assumes that this incompleteness is a welcome aspect of the historian's trade, rather than a gap that we should cover with theorization or redundant evidence. Yet the narrative structure of case studies like this makes it necessary to probe what is left outside the story, however unpleasant it might be. In these comments I will try to do that by inserting this fascinating case into a historical reflection about the relationship between violence and the law, an aspect of Guatemalan history that “Gloria's Story” reluctantly illustrates.
The One-Drop Rule in Reverse? Interracial Marriages in Napoleonic and Restoration France
Authors: Heuer Jennifer
Published: August 2010

In the early nineteenth century, an obscure rural policeman petitioned the French government with an unusual story. Charles Fanaye had served with Napoleon's armies in Egypt. Chased by Mameluks, he was rescued in the nick of time by a black Ethiopian woman and hidden in her home. Threatened in turn by the Mameluks, Marie-Hélène (as the woman came to be called) threw in her lot with the French army and followed Fanaye to France. The couple then sought to wed. They easily overcame religious barriers when Marie-Héléne was baptized in the Cathedral of Avignon. But another obstacle was harder to overcome: an 1803 ministerial decree banned marriage between blacks and whites. Though Fanaye and Marie-Héléne begged for an exception, the decree would plague them for the next sixteen years of their romance.
Medical Student Attitudes about Bioethics
Authors: MACPHERSON CHERYL C. , VEATCH ROBERT M.
Published: August 2010

Professionalism is demonstrated through attitudes and behaviors. Medical education is concerned with teaching and evaluating it among students. It is often bioethicists who teach professionalism to medical students. Most bioethics curricula use lectures and group discussions to introduce principles and theories, but there is variation in number of credit and contact hours, placement in the curriculum (which year(s) and alongside which courses bioethics is placed), the extent of individual mentoring, and the emphasis placed on any particular philosophical approach. Bioethics curricula also vary in whether and how explicitly and extensively they address topics, including professionalism, cultural competence, medical humanities, spirituality, death and dying, and community service, and in the number and topics of vignettes, controversies, assignments, and course activities.
The Case: A Son’s Refusal
Authors: McGAUGHEY J. WESTLY , VOLPE REBECCA L.
Published: August 2010

Mrs. J was a 66-year-old Muslima who was brought to the hospital from the subacute unit where she had been living for the past 2 years because of intense pain caused by keratitis, an inflamed cornea of a nonfunctioning eye. In addition to her severe eye pain, Mrs. J suffered with a number of other difficult medical conditions, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. She was both gastric tube and ventilator dependent and had a history of multiple myleoma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and congestive heart failure. Mrs. J came from a large and traditional Muslim family with 6 children and 17 grandchildren. Although she had full decisionmaking capacity, she designated one of her sons to make her medical decisions for her.
Relational Autonomy and Multiculturalism
Authors: TUROLDO FABRIZIO
Published: August 2010

The principle of autonomy, through various court rulings, gradually became part of medical practice and tradition in the second half of the 1800s, notably when the emergence of surgical anaesthesia began to raise serious questions regarding informed consent. In fact, surgical anaesthesia was initially used not only to avoid pain but also to combat patients’ resistance to operations.
Lifestyle: Bioethics at a Critical Juncture
Authors: DEVISCH IGNAAS , DEVEUGELE MYRIAM
Published: August 2010

More than ever, the way we live our lives has become subject to our own decisionmaking. Our whole way of living, in particular what we do to our body, has become the expression of personal lifestyle choices. Because we can make changes to our body according to our own individual preferences, every aspect of our life begins to be seen as the result of individual and voluntary decisions. The comparison with advertising is pertinent here: we should no longer accept the way we are but can choose from a variety of options. Go to any supermarket and look around: innumerable products are promoted because of their healthy ingredients, whether to lower our cholesterol or heighten our natural resistance. And, of course, we buy what is on offer.
Sweden Asks: Should Convicted Murderers Practice Medicine?
Authors: APPEL JACOB
Published: August 2010

Most reasonable people acknowledge that Karl Helge Hampus Hellekant has committed a grave moral offense: the 33-year-old Swede, also known as Karl Svensson, was convicted of killing trade unionist Björn Söderberg in 1999 at the behest of the Swedish neo-Nazi movement. What is not so clear is whether Hellekant, who is currently free on parole, should be permitted to become a physician. The former extremist was admitted to the medical school at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute in 2007, but later expelled—following considerable public debate—after school officials discovered that he was temporarily unable to verify his academic records. Sweden’s most prestigious medical school, Uppsala, subsequently confirmed these records and matricatulated him in 2008.
The Humanities and the Future of Bioethics Education
Authors: FINS JOSEPH J.
Published: August 2010

Let’s face it, the humanities are in trouble. Last year, inThe Chronicle of Higher Education,Thomas H. Benton warned prospective graduate students to avoid doctoral studies in the humanities. His rationale: a job market down 40%, the improbability of tenure, the more certain prospect of life as an adjunct, and eventual outright exile from one’s chosen field. Benton, the pen name of William Pannapacker, an associate professor of English at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, pulled no punches. His piece was entitled, “Graduate School in the Humanities: Just Don’t Go.”
The potential of herbaceous native Australian legumes as grain crops: a review
Authors: Bell Lindsay W. , Bennett Richard G. , Ryan Megan H. , Clarke Heather
Published: August 2010

Many agricultural systems around the world are challenged by declining soil resources, a dry climate and increases in input costs. The cultivation of plants that are better adapted than current crop species to nutrient poor soils, a dry climate and low-input agricultural systems would aid the continued profitability and environmental sustainability of agricultural systems. This paper examines herbaceous native Australian legumes for their capacity to be developed as grain crops adapted to dry environments. The 14 genera that contain herbaceous species areCanavalia, Crotalaria, Cullen, Desmodium, Glycine, Glycyrrhiza, Hardenbergia, Indigofera, Kennedia, Lotus, Rhynchosia, Swainsona, TrigonellaandVigna. A number of these genera (e.g.,Glycine, Crotalaria, TrigonellaandVigna) include already cultivated exotic grain legumes. Species were evaluated based on the extent to which their natural distribution corresponded to arid and semi-arid climatic regions, as well as the existing information on traits related to harvestability (uniformity of ripening, propensity to retain pod, pod shattering and growth habit), grain qualities (seed size, chemistry, color and the absence of toxins) and fecundity. Published data on seed yield were rare, and for many other traits information was limited. The Australian species ofVigna,CanavaliaandDesmodiummainly have tropical distributions and were considered poorly suited for semi-arid temperate cropping systems. Of the remaining generaGlycyrrhizaandCrotalariaspecies showed many suitable traits, including an erect growth habit, a low propensity to shatter, flowers and fruits borne at the end of branches and moderate to large seeds (5 and 38 mg, respectively). The species for which sufficient information was available that were considered highest priority for further investigation wereGlycine canescens, Cullen tenax, Swainsona canescens, Swainsona colutoides, Trigonella suavissima, Kennedia prorepens, Glycyrrhiza acanthocarpa, Crotalaria cunninghamiiandRhynchosia minima.
Entwicklung eines Fragebogens zur subjektiven Einschätzung der geistigen Leistungsfähigkeit (FLei) bei Patienten mit psychischen Störungen
Authors: Beblo Thomas , Kunz Miriam , Brokate Barbara , Scheurich Armin , Weber Bernhard , Albert Anita , Richter Petra , Lautenbacher Stefan
Published: August 2010

Das Ziel dieser Untersuchung besteht in einer ersten Überprüfung der testtheoretischen Kennwerte des neu entwickelten «Fragebogens zur geistigen Leistungsfähigkeit (FLei)» bei Patienten mit psychischen Störungen. An der Untersuchung nahmen insgesamt 259 Personen teil, 68 Schizophreniepatienten, 94 depressive Patienten und 97 Kontrollpersonen. Die ursprüngliche Version des Fragebogens umfasste 88 Items der Bereiche Aufmerksamkeit, Gedächtnis und Exekutivfunktionen sowie Fragen zum visuellen Neglekt. Der Fragebogen konnte auf 35 Items reduziert werden. Items verschiedener Funktionsbereiche waren hoch miteinander korreliert. Itemkennwerte, interne Konsistenz und Split-Half Reliabilität sind durchgängig als gut zu bezeichnen. Depressive Patienten berichteten die deutlichsten Defizite. Eine funktionsspezifische Auswertung ist aufgrund der hohen Interkorrelationen zwischen den Funktionsbereichen nur bedingt zu empfehlen. In weiteren Untersuchungen sollten die Ergebnisse an einer unabhängigen Stichprobe bestätigt werden.
Economic potential of market‐oriented water storage decisions: Evidence from Australia
Authors: Brennan Donna
Published: August 2010

Significant reforms made to Australian irrigation property rights in recent years have enabled the development of an active seasonal water market. In contrast, decisions regarding the allocation of water across time are typically based on central decisions, with little or no opportunity offered to irrigators to manage risk by physically transferring their water access right between years by leaving it in the public dam. An empirical examination of the economics of water storage is presented using a case study of the Goulburn Valley, a major irrigation region in the state of Victoria. It is shown that, compared to the historically used, centrally determined storage policy, a market‐based storage policy would store more water, on average, and would also allocate more water in periods of low rainfall. The analysis indicates that the costs associated with a recent prolonged drought were $100 million more than they would have been if water storage decisions had been guided by the market and prices were 3 times higher.
Comparison of composite Bragg theory and quad‐polarization radar backscatter from RADARSAT‐2: With applications to wave breaking and high wind retrieval
Authors: Hwang Paul A. , Zhang Biao , Toporkov Jakov V. , Perrie William
Published: August 2010

Depolarized (de‐pol) radar backscatter is now produced by many spaceborne satellites. Analysis of RADARSAT‐2 (R2) quad‐polarization (quad‐pol) data with collocated in situ ocean wind measurements reveals that the de‐pol radar backscatter does not saturate in high winds. This is a significant development for radar wind sensing, because wind retrieval with copolarized (co‐pol) backscatter suffers from problems of incidence‐and‐azimuth‐angle‐dependent signal saturation and dampening in high winds. We present a study comparing satellite quad‐pol measurements with the composite surface Bragg (CB) theory of radar backscattering from the ocean surface. The co‐pol data are in good agreement with the CB theory. De‐pol data are more sensitive to wind speed compared to theoretical prediction, thus retrieval of high winds is more accurate using the de‐pol return. The cubic wind speed dependence of de‐pol returns in high winds reflects the significant breaking wave contributions. The relationship can be used to obtain wave‐breaking properties from space.
Modeling the vertical distributions of downwelling plane irradiance and diffuse attenuation coefficient in optically deep waters
Authors: Pan Xiaoju , Zimmerman Richard C.
Published: August 2010

The diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd) is critical to understand the vertical distribution of underwater downwelling irradiance (Ed). Theoretically Ed is composed of the direct solar beam and the diffuse sky irradiance. Applying the statistical results from Hydrolight radiative transfer simulations, Kd is expressed into a mathematical equation (named as PZ06) integrated from the contribution of direct solar beam and diffuse sky irradiance with the knowledge of sky and water conditions. The percent root mean square errors (RMSE) for the vertical distribution of Ed(z) under various sky and water conditions between PZ06 and Hydrolight results are typically less than 4%. Field observations from the southern Middle Atlantic Bight (SMAB) and global in situ data set (NOMAD) also confirmed the validity of PZ06 in reproducing Kd. PZ06 provides an alternative and improvement to the simpler models (e.g., Gordon, 1989; and Kirk, 1991) and an operational ocean color algorithm, while the latter two kinds of models are valid to limited sky and water conditions. PZ06 can be applied to study Kd from satellite remotely sensed images and seems to improve Kd derivation over current operational ocean color algorithm.
Calculation of stage‐discharge relations for gravel bedded channels
Authors: Kean Jason W. , Smith J. Dungan
Published: August 2010

A method for calculating stage‐discharge relations (rating curves) in gravel bedded streams is presented and applied to five reaches at U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) gaging stations. The approach, which builds on the work of Kean and Smith (2005), uses a fluid‐mechanically based model to convert measurements of stage into flow and boundary shear stress fields as appropriate for determining water discharge. The model does not use site‐specific empirical roughness coefficients, such as the Manning coefficient, but rather determines channel roughness from field measurements of the channel geometry and the dominant physical and biological roughness elements in the modeled reach. The approach is fully compatible with current USGS‐style river gaging procedures and can be used in conjunction with or instead of the standard empirical gaging methods. When used in parallel, the theoretical rating curves produced by the model are in good agreement with direct measurements of discharge made by the USGS. The results of our analyses indicate that the theoretical rating curve approach has the potential to substantially reduce the number of measurement visits, and therefore costs, required to develop rating curves for gaging stations. Owing to this lower cost, it is well suited for regional hydrologic studies in which rainfall distributions are measured in space and time and are compared with measured discharges on the links of the river network. In addition, our method is ideally suited for sites, such as remote locations, where it is difficult or impossible to define a complete rating curve using conventional methods alone.
Flow and retreat of the Late Quaternary Pine Island‐Thwaites palaeo‐ice stream, West Antarctica
Authors: Graham Alastair G. C. , Larter Robert D. , Gohl Karsten , Dowdeswell Julian A. , Hillenbrand Claus‐Dieter , Smith James A. , Evans Jeffrey , Kuhn Gerhard , Deen Tara
Published: August 2010

Multibeam swath bathymetry and sub‐bottom profiler data are used to establish constraints on the flow and retreat history of a major palaeo‐ice stream that carried the combined discharge from the parts of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet now occupied by the Pine Island and Thwaites glacier basins. Sets of highly elongated bedforms show that, at the last glacial maximum, the route of the Pine Island‐Thwaites palaeo‐ice stream arced north‐northeast following a prominent cross‐shelf trough. In this area, the grounding line advanced to within ∼68 km of, and probably reached, the shelf edge. Minimum ice thickness is estimated at 715 m on the outer shelf, and we estimate a minimum ice discharge of ∼108 km3 yr−1 assuming velocities similar to today's Pine Island glacier (∼2.5 km yr−1). Additional bed forms observed in a trough northwest of Pine Island Bay likely formed via diachronous ice flows across the outer shelf and demonstrate switching ice stream behavior. The “style” of ice retreat is also evident in five grounding zone wedges, which suggest episodic deglaciation characterized by halts in grounding line migration up‐trough. Stillstands occurred in association with changes in ice bed gradient, and phases of inferred rapid retreat correlate to higher bed slopes, supporting theoretical studies that show bed geometry as a control on ice margin recession. However, estimates that individual wedges could have formed within several centuries still imply a relatively rapid overall retreat. Our findings show that the ice stream channeled a substantial fraction of West Antarctica's discharge in the past, just as the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers do today.
Widespread Amazon forest tree mortality from a single cross‐basin squall line event
Authors: Negrón‐Juárez Robinson I. , Chambers Jeffrey Q. , Guimaraes Giuliano , Zeng Hongcheng , Raupp Carlos F. M. , Marra Daniel M. , Ribeiro Gabriel H. P. M. , Saatchi Sassan S. , Nelson Bruce W. , Higuchi Niro
Published: August 2010

Climate change is expected to increase the intensity of extreme precipitation events in Amazonia that in turn might produce more forest blowdowns associated with convective storms. Yet quantitative tree mortality associated with convective storms has never been reported across Amazonia, representing an important additional source of carbon to the atmosphere. Here we demonstrate that a single squall line (aligned cluster of convective storm cells) propagating across Amazonia in January, 2005, caused widespread forest tree mortality and may have contributed to the elevated mortality observed that year. Forest plot data demonstrated that the same year represented the second highest mortality rate over a 15‐year annual monitoring interval. Over the Manaus region, disturbed forest patches generated by the squall followed a power‐law distribution (scaling exponent α = 1.48) and produced a mortality of 0.3–0.5 million trees, equivalent to 30% of the observed annual deforestation reported in 2005 over the same area. Basin‐wide, potential tree mortality from this one event was estimated at 542 ± 121 million trees, equivalent to 23% of the mean annual biomass accumulation estimated for these forests. Our results highlight the vulnerability of Amazon trees to wind‐driven mortality associated with convective storms. Storm intensity is expected to increase with a warming climate, which would result in additional tree mortality and carbon release to the atmosphere, with the potential to further warm the climate system.
Geographic muting of changes in the Arctic sea ice cover
Authors: Eisenman Ian
Published: August 2010

The seasonal cycle in Arctic sea ice extent is asymmetric. Its amplitude has grown in recent decades as the ice has retreated more rapidly in summer than in winter. These seasonal disparities have typically been attributed to different physical factors operating during different seasons. Here we show instead that the seasonal asymmetries in Arctic sea ice extent are a geometric consequence of the distribution of continents. Coastlines block southward ice extension during winter, thereby muting changes in ice extent, but they have relatively little effect at the time of summer minimum extent. We suggest that the latitude of the Arctic sea ice edge, averaged zonally over locations where it is free to migrate, is the most readily interpretable quantity to describe the Northern Hemisphere sea ice cover. We find that the zonal‐mean sea ice edge latitude during the 1978–present era of satellite measurements has been following an approximately sinusoidal seasonal cycle that has been migrating northward at an approximately annually constant rate of 8 km/year. These results suggest a change in perspective of the most critical quantities for understanding changes in Arctic sea ice.
Heating and deceleration of minor ions in the extended fast solar wind by oblique Alfvén waves
Authors: Li X. , Lu Q. M.
Published: August 2010

Using one‐dimensional hybrid simulations, the interaction between oblique propagating Alfvén waves and minor ions in the fast solar wind stream is investigated in this paper. In typical fast solar wind conditions, these waves and the drifting minor ions satisfy the ion cyclotron resonance condition: ω = −Ωi + k∥v∥. (Here ω is the wave angular frequency, Ωi is the gyration frequency of an ion species i, k∥ is the wave number component along the background magnetic field B0, and v∥ is the particle velocity component of the ion species parallel to B0.) These waves are able to heat minor ions while decelerating them at the same time. The heating is primarily in the direction perpendicular to the background magnetic field, and the deceleration helps to restrict minor ion and proton beam‐drifting speed at or just lower than the local Alfvén speed (in relative to the speed of the core proton component).
Methods and Parameters for Membrane Simulations
Authors: Tieleman D. Peter
Published: August 2010

Computer simulations of lipids and membrane proteins are essentially standard biomolecular simulation projects but there are a number of issues that are specific to membranes or require special attention. In this chapter I review a number of basic choices in force fields and algorithms that affect membrane simulations. I also discuss a number of practical issues with setting up membrane simulations and current limitations of typical membrane simulations. The treatment of pressure, electrostatics, periodic boundary conditions and force field parameters for combining lipids with other biomolecules, as well as sufficient sampling for the problem of interest are of particular importance.
Effects of Acute Atrial Dilation on Heterogeneity in Conduction in the Isolated Rabbit Heart
Authors: EIJSBOUTS SABINE C.M. , MAJIDI MOHAMED , ZANDVOORT MARC van , ALLESSIE MAURITS A.
Published: August 2010

Introduction: Atrial dilation plays an important role in the development and persistence of atrial fibrillation (AF). The mechanisms by which atrial dilation increases the vulnerability to AF are not fully understood.

Methods and Results: In 11 isolated rabbit hearts, the right atrium was acutely dilated by increasing the intra‐atrial pressure from 2 to 9 and 14 cm H2O. A rectangular mapping array of 240 electrodes (spatial resolution 0.5 mm) was positioned on the free wall of the right atrium. The atrium was paced from four different sites at intervals of 240 and 125 msec. At normal atrial pressure (2 cm H2O), conduction was uniform in all directions with an anisotropy ratio between 1.5 and 1.7. Increasing the pressure to 9 cm H2O decreased the normalized conduction velocity during rapid pacing by 18%. The incidence of areas of slow conduction and conduction block increased from 6.6% and 1.6% to 10.2% and 3.3%. At 14 cm H2O, conduction velocity decreased by 31% and the percentage of slow conduction and block further increased to 11.5% and 6.6%

(P < 0.001).

The appearance of lines of intra‐atrial block was largely dependent on the pacing site. Whereas during pacing at the cranial part of the crista terminalis no increase in conduction delays occurred, pacing from the low right atrium unmasked several lines of block oriented parallel to the major trabeculae and the crista terminalis. In an additional series of six hearts the left atrium also was mapped. The effect of dilation of the left atrium was comparable to that of the right atrium. Increasing the atrial pressure to 14 cm H2O increased the amount of intra‐atrial conduction block threefold to fourfold.

Conclusion: Acute atrial dilation results in slowing of conduction and an increase of the amount of intra‐atrial conduction block. The increase in spatial heterogeneity in conduction was related to the anisotropic properties of the atrial wall.
(J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 14, pp. 269‐278, March 2003)
Characterization of Onset Mechanism and Waveform Analysis in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation Using a High‐Resolution Noncontact Mapping System
Authors: WEBER STEFAN , NDREPEPA GJIN , SCHNEIDER MICHAEL , GEISSLER BERNADETTE , SCHREIECK JÜRGEN , KARCH MARTIN , SCHMIEDER SEBASTIAN , DEISENHOFER ISABEL , ZRENNER BERNHARD , SCHÖMIG ALBERT , SCHMITT CLAUS
Published: August 2010

Characterization of AF with Noncontact Mapping.
Introduction: Information on the spatiotemporal organization of atrial activity at the onset of atrial fibrillation (AF) is limited.

Methods and Results: The study consisted of 26 consecutive patients (22 men and 4 women; mean age 56 ± 9 years) with AF in whom the left atrium (LA) was mapped using a noncontact mapping system. At the onset of AF, the AF cycle lengths and wavefronts were analyzed at the site of origin of the triggering atrial premature complex (APC) and five predefined sites within the LA (superior, anterior, posterior, lateral, and septal walls). If repetitive activity was observed at the site of origin of APCs, triggered AF episodes were considered as focally driven. APCs that induced AF had shorter coupling intervals than APCs that did not induce AF (300 ± 41 msec vs 392 ± 64 msec, P < 0.001). Immediately after AF onset, repetitive firing was crucial for maintenance of arrhythmia in 52 (80%) of 65 AF episodes. In 13 AF onset episodes (20%), AF was maintained by other mechanisms. The number of LA wavefronts after AF onset was lower in focally driven AF episodes compared with episodes in which no focally driven activity was observed (1.9 ± 0.6 v. 2.3 ± 2.3 wavefronts, P < 0.05). After the onset of AF, the posterior wall of the LA showed the earliest disorganized activity (after 5.2 ± 3.1 cycles).

Conclusion: In the majority of AF episodes (80%), repetitive firing from the triggering foci may play an important role in maintaining AF immediately after arrhythmia onset. In 20% of the episodes, AF at early stages seems to be maintained by other mechanisms. The capability of APCs to induce AF depends on the coupling interval and the focus localization. The posterior wall of the LA shows the earliest disorganization of wavefronts at the onset of AF. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 14, pp. 176‐181, February 2003)
Atrial Infarction:
Authors: NEVEN KARS , CRIJNS HARRY , GORGELS ANTON
Published: August 2010

A case of atrial infarction in the setting of an acute infero‐posterolateral and right ventricular myocardial infarction is reported. Although often only a subtle ECG sign, this finding must make the physician aware of possible complications, such as arrhythmias (atrial fibrillation, sinus bradycardia, and AV conduction disturbances), pump failure of the right and left ventricle, atrial wall rupture, and thromboembolization.
(J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 14, pp. 306‐308, March 2003)
Temporary Atrial Epicardial Pacing as Prophylaxis Against Atrial Fibrillation after Heart Surgery:
Authors: DAOUD EMILE G. , SNOW RICK , HUMMEL JOHN D. , KALBFLEISCH STEVEN J. , WEISS RAUL , AUGOSTINI RALPH
Published: August 2010

Pacing for Postoperative AF.
Introduction: Recent studies have reported the use of temporary epicardial atrial pacing as prophylaxis for postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF). The aim of this study was to assess the effect of pacing therapies for prevention of postoperative AF using meta‐analysis.

Methods and Results: Using a computerized MEDLINE search, eight pacing prophylaxis trials with 776 patients were included in the meta‐analysis. Trials compared control patients to patients randomized to right atrial, left atrial, or biatrial pacing used in conjunction with either fixed high‐rate pacing or overdrive pacing. Overdrive biatrial pacing (OR 2.6, CI 1.4–4.8), overdrive right atrial pacing (OR 1.8, CI 1.1–2.7), and fixed high‐rate biatrial pacing (OR 2.5, CI 1.3–5.1) demonstrated a significant antiarrhythmic effect for prevention of AF after open heart surgery. Furthermore, studies investigating overdrive left atrial pacing and fixed high‐rate right atrial pacing have been underpowered to assess efficacy.

Conclusion: Biatrial overdrive and fixed highz‐rate pacing and right atrial fixed high‐rate pacing reduced the risk of new‐onset AF after open heart surgery, and the relative risk reduction is approximately 2.5‐fold. These results imply that various pacing algorithms are useful as a nonpharmacologic method to prevent postoperative AF. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 14, pp. 127‐132, February 2003)
Site‐Selective Atrial Septal Puncture
Authors: BAZAZ RAVEEN , SCHWARTZMAN DAVID
Published: August 2010

Site‐Selective Atrial Septal Puncture. Atrial transseptal puncture is a technique that provides pervenous access to the left heart. The aim of this technique is to provide catheter access to the left atrium and ventricle for mapping, as well as stable electrode‐endocardial contact for ablation energy application. In the present report, “site‐selective” atrial septal puncture is described and illustrated using case reports. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 14, pp. 196‐199, February 2003)
Pericaval and Periannular Intra‐atrial Reentrant Tachycardias in Patients with Congenital Heart Disease
Authors: MANDAPATI RAVI , WALSH EDWARD P. , TRIEDMAN JOHN K.
Published: August 2010

Pericaval IART in CHD. Introduction: Intra‐atrial reentrant tachycardia (IART) is a frequent late sequel of congenital heart surgery, often involving the cavotricuspid isthmus. In this report, we characterize pericaval reentry, a novel mechanism of isthmus‐dependent IART in congenital heart patients, and compare its electrophysiologic characteristics with periannular atrial flutter.

Methods and Results: Electrophysiologic and electroanatomic mapping data and acute outcomes were reviewed in postoperative patients with congenital heart disease who underwent electrophysiologic study/radiofrequency catheter ablation at The Children's Hospital, Boston between January 1999 and November 2000. The study included all congenital heart patients with IART and who had undergone (1) the Fontan procedure and (2) a biventricular surgical repair other than atrial switch procedures. Thirty‐seven IARTs were mapped in 22 Fontan patients. Twelve of 37 IARTs (33%) that revolved about the inferior vena cava (IVC) and involved the isthmus between the IVC and the tricuspid dimple/right‐sided AV valve were identified in 12 patients (48%). Mean pericaval IART cycle length was 332 ± 60 msec (range 240–410). An adjacent or surrounding area of scarring was observed in 10 of 12 IARTs. Slow zones (mean activation latency 39%± 11% IART cycle length) were detected in 8 of 12 circuits. The boundaries of the zone of slow conduction were scar‐low crista (6) and scar‐IVC (2). Periannular IART with CL 289 ± 65 ms was observed in 14 of 20 patients with 4‐chambered hearts. Slow zones (mean activation latency 28 ± 9% IART cycle length) were found in 8 of 14 circuits. In both forms of IART, the predominant direction of activation of the isthmus was lateral to septal; 83% in pericaval IART and 87% in periannular IART. Radiofrequency catheter ablation successfully terminated 11 of 11 pericaval and 13 of 14 periannular IARTs.

Conclusion: Pericaval reentry is a novel and ablatable mechanism of IART in patients specific to the Fontan procedure. It is distinguished from periannular atrial reentry by its association with Fontan anatomy, longer cycle lengths, and occurrence of a prominent discrete zone(s) of slow conduction. Both pericaval and periannular reentry show a marked preference for utilization of the isthmus in a lateral‐to‐septal direction. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 14, pp. 119‐125, February 2003)
Molecular Genetic Analysis of PRKAG2 in Sporadic Wolff‐Parkinson‐White Syndrome
Authors: VAUGHAN CARL J. , HOM YOLANDA , OKIN DANIEL A. , McDERMOTT DEBORAH A. , LERMAN BRUCE B. , BASSON CRAIG T.
Published: August 2010

Introduction: Mutations in the PRKAG2 gene that encodes the gamma2 regulatory subunit of AMP‐activated protein kinase have been shown to cause autosomal dominant Wolff‐Parkinson‐White (WPW) syndrome associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Prior studies focused on familial WPW syndrome associated with other heart disease such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. However, such disease accounts for only a small fraction of WPW cases, and the contribution of PRKAG2 mutations to sporadic isolated WPW syndrome is unknown.

Methods and Results: Subjects presented for clinical electrophysiologic evaluation of suspected WPW syndrome. WPW syndrome was diagnosed by ECG findings and/or by clinically indicated electrophysiologic study prior to enrollment. Echocardiography excluded hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Denaturing high‐performance liquid chromatography and automated sequencing were used to search for PRKAG2 mutations. Twenty‐six patients without a family history of WPW syndrome were studied. No subject had cardiac hypertrophy, and only one patient had associated congenital heart disease. Accessory pathways were detected at diverse locations within the heart. Two polymorphisms in PRKAG2 were detected. [inv6+36insA] occurred in intron 6 in 4 WPW patients and [inv10+10delT] in intron 10 in 1 WPW patient. Both occurred in normal unrelated chromosomes. No PRKAG2 mutations were detected.

Conclusion: This study shows that, unlike familial WPW syndrome, constitutional mutation of PRKAG2 is not commonly associated with sporadic WPW syndrome. Although polymorphisms within the PRKAG2 introns were identified, there is no evidence that these polymorphisms predispose to accessory pathway formation because their frequency is similarly high in both WPW patients and normal individuals. Further studies are warranted to identify the molecular basis of common sporadic WPW syndrome.
(J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 14, pp. 263‐268, March 2003)
Cross‐Talk in a Dual‐Chamber Defibrillator Presenting as Pacemaker Alternans
Authors: SHALABY ALAA A.
Published: August 2010

This case report highlights the occurrence of pacemaker alternans in a dual‐chamber defibrillator. Pacemaker alternans occurs secondary to cross‐talk. The sensing algorithm and basic timing cycles are reviewed.
(J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 14, pp. 325‐328, March 2003)
Subcutaneous Array to Transvenous Proximal Coil Defibrillation as a Solution to High Defibrillation Thresholds with Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Distal Coil Failure
Authors: AVITALL BOAZ , OZA SAUMIL R. , GONZALEZ ROSE , AVERY ROBERT
Published: August 2010

Implantation of a subcutaneous array to improve the defibrillation threshold of an existing transvenous defibrillation lead system without the need for lead extraction is discussed.
(J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 14, pp. 314‐315, March 2003)
Coronary Ischemia Induced by Radiofrequency Ablation in the Left Atrium
Authors: SIMON RON D.B. , GILL JASWINDER S.
Published: August 2010

Ischemia Induced by RF Ablation in LA.
Introduction: We report three cases of transient, reversible coronary ischemia occurring after radiofrequency ablation in the left atrium.

Methods and Results: A 56‐year‐old man with a left atrial tachycardia that was mapped to the septum and roof of the atrium using a noncontact mapping developed 5‐mm ST elevation in the anterolateral leads. Coronary angiography showed an occluded diagonal that was opened using intracoronary nitrate, which led to resolution of the ST changes. A 57‐year‐old man undergoing right upper pulmonary vein ablation developed 6‐mm ST elevation in leads V1–V4, II, III, and aVF. Coronary angiography showed normal coronaries with slow flow into the left anterior descending artery, which resolved with nitrates. A 50‐year‐old man undergoing left lower pulmonary vein ablation developed 3‐mm reversible inferior ST elevation. All patients were adequately anticoagulated after transseptal access to the left atrium.

Conclusion: Ablation in the left atrium, at the roof, septum, and left inferior wall, can cause transient coronary ischemia, possibly due to spasm, which can be reversed with intracoronary nitrates. This phenomenon has not been previously described. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 14, pp. 186‐190, February 2003)
Incessant Nonreentrant Tachycardia Due to Simultaneous Conduction Over Dual Atrioventricular Nodal Pathways Mimicking Atrial Fibrillation in Patients Referred for Pulmonary Vein Isolation
Authors: Mansour Moussa , Marrouche Nassir , Ruskin Jeremy , Natale Andrea , Keane David
Published: August 2010

It has been reported that conduction over the fast and slow pathways of the AV node can occur simultaneously, leading to a double ventricular response from each atrial beat. We report the cases of two patients referred to us for evaluation of symptomatic, incessant, and irregular narrow‐complex tachycardia, misdiagnosed as atrial fibrillation, for consideration of pulmonary vein isolation. At presentation, careful evaluation of the electrograms revealed the presence of two ventricular activations for each atrial beat. At electrophysiologic study, both patients were found to have nonreentrant tachycardias arising from simultaneous conduction over the fast and slow pathways of the AV node. In one patient, the tachycardia had resulted in cardiomyopathy. Slow AV nodal pathway ablation performed in both patients resulted in cure of their tachycardias and recovery of ventricular function in the patient with cardiomyopathy. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 14, pp. 752‐755, July 2003)