bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Land degradation control and its global environmental benefits
Authors: Gisladottir G. , Stocking M.
Published: March 2005

Acknowledged by world leaders as a global problem, land degradation has been taken seriously in three ways: its extent and the proportion of the global population affected; international environmental policy responses; and its inter‐relation with other global environmental issues such as biodiversity. Messages about land degradation have, however, suffered from abuses, which have rendered appropriate policy responses ineffective. For control to be effective, the paper argues that the synergies between land degradation and the two other main global environmental change components (biodiversity and climate change) should be more fully exploited. A focus on the interlinkages, of which there are six possible permutations, is fully supported by empirical findings that suggest that land degradation control would not only technically be better served by addressing aspects of biodiversity and climate change but also that international financing mechanisms and the major donors would find this more acceptable. The DPSIR (Driving Force, Pressure, State, Impacts, Response) conceptual framework model is used to illustrate how land degradation control could be more effective, tackling not only the drivers of change but also major developmental issues such as poverty and food insecurity. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Fatigue failure of coarse‐grained alumina under contact loading
Authors: Fett T. , Kraft O. , Munz D.
Published: March 2005

Bars cyclically loaded by oppositely concentrated forces via rollers are appropriate test specimens for the determination of fatigue under contact loading. The contact strengths and numbers of cycles to failure under contact loading were determined for coarse‐grained alumina. From theoretical considerations, it can be concluded that delayed failure in contact fatigue tests is caused by a reduction of the friction between the crack surfaces due to cyclic loading and the related increase of the effective stress intensity factor until the fracture toughness is reached.
Isothermal and Thermal‐Mechanical Fatigue of Alumina
Authors: Nejma R. , Lang K.‐H. , Löhe D.
Published: March 2005

Isothermal four‐point‐bending tests and uniaxial tension‐compression tests with different mean stresses at 25 °C and 900 °C as well as thermal mechanical fatigue (TMF) test with Tmin = 400 °C and Tmax = 900 °C were carried out in laboratory air on an alumina ceramic with a small amount of intergranular glass phases resulting from sintering aids (MgO, SiO and CaO). From four‐point‐bending tests characteristic strength date were determined. The fatigue tests were performed at different mean stresses. From the resulting lifetime data Haigh diagrams were evaluated. The fatigue strength for mean stress below about 180 MPa at T = 900 °C is higher than at T = 25 °C because of stress relaxation processes in the failure critical sites like triple points, grain boundaries and micro‐pores.

The thermal‐mechanical fatigue (TMF) behaviour was investigated using the “out‐of‐phase” test procedure with a triangle shape temperature time curve and total mechanical strain control. Under TMF loading conditions the number of cycles to failure decreases with increasing mechanical total strain amplitude. The maximal stress induced in the particular cycles within a particular test increases with increasing number of cycles. This is the more pronounced the higher the total mechanical strain amplitude is. On average, failure of the specimen take place when the induced maximal stress reaches 150 MPa.
Phenotypic variability in myotonia congenita
Authors: Colding‐Jørgensen Eskild
Published: March 2005

Myotonia congenita is a hereditary chloride channel disorder characterized by delayed relaxation of skeletal muscle (myotonia). It is caused by mutations in the skeletal muscle chloride channel gene CLCN1 on chromosome 7. The phenotypic spectrum of myotonia congenita ranges from mild myotonia disclosed only by clinical examination to severe and disabling myotonia with transient weakness and myopathy. The most severe phenotypes are seen in patients with two mutated alleles. Heterozygotes are often asymptomatic but for some mutations heterozygosity is sufficient to cause pronounced myotonia, although without weakness and myopathy. Thus, the phenotype depends on the mutation type to some extent, but this does not explain the fact that severity varies greatly between heterozygous family members and may even vary with time in the individual patient. In this review, existing knowledge about phenotypic variability is summarized, and the possible contributing factors are discussed. Muscle Nerve, 2005
Excitatory synaptic potentials in spastic human motoneurons have a short rise‐time
Authors: Suresh Nina L. , Ellis Michael D. , Moore Jennifer , Heckman Heather , Rymer William Zev
Published: March 2005

This study assessed whether changes in size or time‐course of excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) in motoneurons innervating spastic muscle could induce a greater synaptic response, and thereby contribute to reflex hyperexcitability. We compared motor unit (MU) firing patterns elicited by tendon taps applied to both spastic and contralateral (nonspastic) biceps brachii muscle in hemiparetic stroke subjects. Based on recordings of 115 MUs, significantly shortened EPSP rise times were present on the spastic side, but with no significant differences in estimated EPSP amplitude. These changes may contribute to hyperexcitable reflex responses at short latency, but the EPSP amplitude changes appear insufficient to account for global differences in reflex excitability. Muscle Nerve, 2005
Optical resources provisioning: multipoint‐to‐point lightpaths mapping in all‐optical networks
Authors: Bouabdallah Nizar , Pujolle Guy
Published: March 2005

In wavelength‐division multiplexing (WDM) optical networks, the bandwidth request of a traffic stream can be much lower than the capacity of a lightpath. Efficiently grooming low‐speed connections onto high‐capacity lightpaths will improve the network throughput and reduce the network cost. In this paper, we propose and evaluate a new concept of traffic aggregation in WDM mesh networks that aims to eliminate both the bandwidth under‐utilization and scalability concerns that are typical in all‐optical wavelength routed networks. This approach relies on the multipoint‐to‐point lightpath concept. In order to assess the efficiency of our proposal, all underlying network costs are compared. To achieve this aim, we devise a new provisioning algorithm to map the multipoint‐to‐point lightpaths in the network. Our results show that the proposed aggregation technique can significantly improve the network throughput while reducing its cost. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Stability and accuracy of finite element methods for flow acoustics. II: Two‐dimensional effects
Authors: Gabard G. , Astley R. J. , Ben Tahar M.
Published: March 2005

This is the second of two articles that focus on the dispersion properties of finite element models for acoustic propagation on mean flows. We consider finite element methods based on linear potential theory in which the acoustic disturbance is modelled by the convected Helmholtz equation, and also those based on a mixed Galbrun formulation in which acoustic pressure and Lagrangian displacement are used as discrete variables. The current paper focuses on the effects of numerical anisotropy which are associated with the orientation of the propagating wave to the mean flow and to the grid axes. Conditions which produce aliasing error in the Helmholtz formulation are of particular interest. The 9‐noded Lagrangian element is shown to be superior to the more commonly used 8‐noded serendipity element. In the case of the Galbrun elements, the current analysis indicates that isotropic meshes generally reduce numerical error of triangular elements and that higher order mixed quadrilaterals are generally less effective than an equivalent mesh of lower order triangles. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Numerical simulation of thermomechanical behaviours of shape memory alloys via a non‐linear mesh‐free Galerkin formulation
Authors: Liew K. M. , Ren J. , Reddy J. N.
Published: March 2005

A new computational approach is developed based on the mesh‐free method for the numerical simulation of shape memory alloys. A thermomechanical constitutive model is used to describe the complex material response. The incremental displacement‐based mesh‐free formulation is constructed in a total Lagrangian description by employing the moving least square shape function and rate form of the shape memory alloy constitutive model in the variational equations. This mesh‐free formulation is not only applicable to large deformation problems, but also accounts for both stress and thermally induced phase transformation. Moreover, the newly developed mesh‐free codes can deal with complex loading paths and multiple temperature cycles in numerical simulation. The performance of the proposed mesh‐free scheme for the simulation of shape memory alloys is demonstrated in several numerical examples. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
P‐type ZnO thin films prepared by plasma molecular beam epitaxy using radical NO
Authors: Liang H. W. , Lu Y. M. , Shen D. Z. , Liu Y. C. , Yan J. F. , Shan C. X. , Li B. H. , Zhang Z. Z. , Zhang J. Y. , Fan X. W.
Published: March 2005

N‐doped p‐type ZnO thin films were grown by plasma molecular beam epitaxy (P‐MBE) on c‐plane sapphire (Al2O3) using radical NO as oxygen source and nitrogen dopant. The reproducible ZnO thin films have maximum net hole concentration (NA – ND) of 1.2 × 1018 cm–3 and minimum resistivity of 9.36 Ω cm. The influence of N incorporation on the quality of the ZnO thin films was studied using X‐ray diffraction and absorption spectra. The photoluminescence spectra at 77 K of p‐type ZnO thin films are dominated by the emission from donor–acceptor pair recombination. The formation mechanism of p‐type ZnO is explained by the optical emission spectra of radical N2 and radical NO. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
MBE growth of InAsN on (100) InAs substrates
Authors: Sallet V. , Largeau L. , Mauguin O. , Travers L. , Harmand J. C.
Published: March 2005

The growth of InAsN on (100) InAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy is investigated. The incorporation of nitrogen in the alloy is compared with the case of GaAsN grown on GaAs. Under the same conditions, lower nitrogen contents are systematically measured in InAsN. In both cases, nitrogen incorporation was found to be enhanced with the decrease of the arsenic flux supplied to the surface, whereas the nitrogen concentrations measured in InAsN and GaAsN as a function of the growth temperature follow opposite tendencies. For GaAsN, the N content slightly increases as the growth temperature raises from 360 °C to 460 °C. On the contrary, for InAsN alloys, no significant amount of N is observed over the range 420–460 °C and a decrease of the growth temperature down to 370 °C is required to incorporate 1% of nitrogen in InAsN. The comparison of formation enthalpies of binary constituents enables to understand these behaviours. A following discussion addresses the local environment of N atoms in GaInAsN materials. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Hepatitis C virus and the immune system: a concise review
Authors: Gremion Christel , Cerny Andreas
Published: March 2005

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) induces a chronic infection in 50%–80% of infected individuals, which can lead to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The inefficiency of the immune system in eliminating the virus is not well understood as humoral and cellular immune responses are induced. While a persistent infection is generally associated with a weak CD4+ and CD8+ T cell response during the acute phase, there is no good explanation as to why this response is strong enough in 20% of acutely infected people such that they spontaneously resolve the infection. However, the immune system partially controls the viral infection but due to a long‐lasting inflammatory milieu, hepatic damage occurs. During the chronic phase of the infection, HCV does not seem to be cytopathic. This aspect is still controversial as the virus was linked to the development of cholestatic syndrome or acute lobular hepatitis after liver transplant in HCV infected patients.

The development of new experimental systems such as HCV pseudoparticles, genomic replicon and transfected cell lines have improved our vision of the virus cycle as well as the understanding of the mechanism of persistence. However, a convincing explanation for the chronicity of the infection in the presence of a functional immune response is still missing and is an important area of research to understand HCV immune pathogenesis.

Future research should dissect mechanisms that lead to quantitatively or qualitatively inadequate immune responses, the role of the high variability of the virus, the relevance of host's genetic factors and mechanisms of immunosuppression induced by the virus. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Surface analysis of pulsed laser‐deposited V2O5 thin films and their lithium intercalated products studied by Raman spectroscopy
Authors: Ramana C. V. , Smith R. J. , Hussain O. M. , Massot M. , Julien C. M.
Published: March 2005

Vanadium pentoxide films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and their surface structure evolution in relation to the growth temperature and as a function of lithium intercalation was studied. The deposition was made onto various substrate materials over a wide substrate temperature range of 30–500 °C, keeping the oxygen partial pressure at 100 mTorr. The surface properties of V2O5 films were studied by Raman scattering spectroscopy in order to understand the effect of substrate temperature on the structure and growth behavior. The results indicated that the structure of PLD V2O5 films is highly dependent on the growth temperature. The Raman spectra provide additional insight into the nature of the structural changes of lithiated films, showing the appearance of the δ‐ and γ‐phases of LixV2O5. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Discovering applications of higher order functions through proof planning
Authors: Cook A. , Ireland A. , Michaelson G. , Scaife N.
Published: March 2005

The close association between higher order functions (HOFs) and algorithmic skeletons is a promising source of automatic parallelisation of programs. A theorem proving approach to discovering HOFs in functional programs is presented. Our starting point is proof planning, an automated theorem proving technique in which high-level proof plans are used to guide proof search. We use proof planning to identify provably correct transformation rules that introduce HOFs. The approach has been implemented in the
λ Clam
proof planner and tested on a range of examples. The work was conducted within the context of a parallelising compiler for Standard ML.
Security analysis of efficient (Un-) fair non-repudiation protocols
Authors: Gürgens S. , Rudolph C.
Published: March 2005

An approach to protocol analysis using asynchronous product automata (APA) and the simple homomorphism verification tool (SHVT) is demonstrated on several variants of the well known Zhou–Gollmann fair non-repudiation protocol and on two more recent optimistic fair non-repudiation protocols. Attacks on all these protocols are presented and an improved version of the Zhou–Gollmann protocol is proposed.
Right ventricular dysfunction in chronic heart failure patients
Authors: Špinarová Lenka , Meluzín Jaroslav , Toman Jiří , Hude Petr , Krejčí Jan , Vítovec Jiří
Published: March 2005

Aim

To evaluate any differences in haemodynamic and echocardiographic parameters in patients with both left (LV) and right ventricular (RV) systolic dysfunction and in patients with isolated LV systolic dysfunction.

Study group

One hundred patients with RV systolic dysfunction defined as peak velocity of tricuspid annular motion in systole (Sa)<11.5 cm/s, and 55 patients without RV systolic dysfunction Sa>11.5 cm/s. All patients had LV systolic dysfunction, LV ejection fraction (EF) below 40%, NYHA II–IV.

Methods

LV diameters, volumes and EF were measured by echocardiography. Patients underwent tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) of tricuspid annular motion with measurement of peak systolic velocity (Sa), peak early (Ea) and peak late (Aa) diastolic velocities. Right heart catheterization was also performed.

Results

Patients with RV systolic dysfunction did not differ from those without RV systolic dysfunction in terms of LV function. Patients with RV systolic dysfunction had larger RV dimension 30.6±5.8 vs. 33.9±6.7 mm, p<0.002. The patients with RV systolic dysfunction had higher values on right heart catheterization: MPAP 29.6±12.1 vs. 24.9±11.4 mm Hg, p<0.02, PCWP 20.8±10.0 vs. 17.3±9.3 mm Hg, p<0.03, PVR 189.9±123.3 vs. 137.7±94.9 dyn s cm<5, p<0.008, CVP 7.7±5.6 vs. 5.1±3.9 mm Hg, p<0.002. The patients with RV systolic dysfunction had more pronounced diastolic dysfunction measured by TDI: Ea 9.9±2.3 vs. 11.4±2.5 cm/s, p<0.0001 and Aa 13.1±4.0 vs. 16.5±4.7 cm/s, p<0.000007.

Conclusion

Patients with heart failure and both left and right ventricular systolic dysfunction showed more serious findings on central haemodynamics as well as more pronounced right ventricular diastolic dysfunction than those with isolated left ventricular systolic dysfunction.
Transcardiac gradients of N‐terminal B‐type natriuretic peptide in aortic valve stenosis
Authors: Kupari Markku , Turto Heikki , Lommi Jyri , Mäkijärvi Markku , Parikka Hannu
Published: March 2005

Background

Plasma B‐type natriuretic peptide (BNP), as well as the N‐terminal part of the prohormone (Nt‐BNP), are frequently elevated in aortic valve stenosis (AS). Yet, their release from the heart into the circulation has never been directly studied in AS.

Aim

To assess the release of Nt‐BNP in AS with focus on the identification of its main determinants.

Methods

We studied 49 adult patients undergoing preoperative cardiac catheterization for isolated AS. Blood was sampled from the aortic root and the coronary sinus for Nt‐BNP determination by immunoassay.

Results

The mean (±S.E.) transcardiac Nt‐BNP step‐up averaged 79±53 pmol/l in 11 control patients free of structural heart disease, 75±32 pmol/l in 31 AS patients free of heart failure (HF), 236±62 pmol/l in 8 AS patients with diastolic HF (ejection fraction ≥50%, pulmonary wedge pressure >14 mm Hg) and 469±66 pmol/l in 7 AS patients with systolic HF (ejection fraction <50%, wedge pressure >14 mm Hg) (p<0.001). The transcardiac Nt‐BNP gradient was independently associated with left ventricular (LV) end‐diastolic pressure (β=0.47, p<0.001) and ejection fraction (β=−0.29, p<0.019) and with co‐existent coronary artery disease (β=0.23, p=0.050).

Conclusion

LV diastolic and systolic dysfunction along with coronary artery disease are likely to be the key determinants of cardiac Nt‐BNP release in AS. The transcardiac Nt‐BNP gradient increases on average three‐fold with the development of diastolic HF and six‐fold in systolic HF.
Biochemical characterization of Neurospora crassa glycogenin (GNN), the self‐glucosylating initiator of glycogen synthesis
Authors: de Paula Renato M. , Wilson Wayne A. , Roach Peter J. , Terenzi Héctor F. , Bertolini Maria Célia
Published: March 2005

Glycogenin acts in the initiation step of glycogen biosynthesis by catalyzing a self‐glucosylation reaction. In a previous work [de Paula et al., Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 435 (2005) 112–124], we described the isolation of the cDNA gnn, which encodes the protein glycogenin (GNN) in Neurospora crassa. This work presents a set of biochemical and functional studies confirming the GNN role in glycogen biosynthesis. Kinetic experiments showed a very low GNN K
m (4.41 μM) for the substrate UDP‐glucose. Recombinant GNN was produced in Escherichia coli and analysis by mass spectroscopy identified a peptide containing an oligosaccharide chain attached to Tyr196 residue. Site‐directed mutagenesis and functional complementation of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant strain confirmed the participation of this residue in the GNN self‐glucosylation and indicated the Tyr198 residue as an additional, although less active, glucosylation site. The physical interaction between GNN and glycogen synthase (GSN) was analyzed by the two‐hybrid assay. While the entire GSN was required for full interaction, the C‐terminus in GNN was more important. Furthermore, mutation in the GNN glucosylation sites did not impair the interaction with GSN.
REBELLION, RESISTANCE, AND A SWISS BRUTUS?
Authors: RAATH ANDRIES , DE FREITAS SHAUN
Published: March 2005

Early sixteenth-century Germany and Switzerland witnessed, amongst their peasants, a growing dissatisfaction with economic exploitation and the increasing power of political rulers. The Protestant Reformation at the time had a profound influence on the moulding of this dissatisfaction into a right to demand the enforcement of divine justice. The Swiss reformer, Huldrych Zwingli, provided parallels for the demands of the peasants, while the German reformers, Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon, criticized the rebellious methods of the peasantry. Against this background the young Swiss reformer, Heinrich Bullinger, responded more positively towards the claims of the peasants by opposing the views of the Lutheran reformers in his play ‘Lucretia and Brutus’. In this drama, Bullinger propounds the first steps towards the development of his federal theory of politics by advancing the idea of oath-taking as the mechanism for transforming the monarchy into a Christian republic. The idea of oath-taking was destined to become a most important device in early modern politics, used to combat tyranny and to promote the idea of republicanism.
ORIENTALISM, NATIONALISM, AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY IN LATE IMPERIAL RUSSIA
Authors: TOLZ VERA
Published: March 2005

Questioning Edward Said's controversial perception of European Oriental studies as a facilitator of imperialism, this article analyses the views and policies promoted in late imperial Russia by academics specializing in Oriental studies, as they debated how best to integrate ethnic minorities in the country's eastern borderlands. The article argues that, themselves influenced by the pervasive impact of nationalism on European scholarship, between the 1870s and the 1917 Revolution these academics proposed policies which are best understood as aimed at nation-building (i.e. fostering a sense of community and unity among the population of a state) rather than at imperial domination of the minorities by the Russians. Identifying the origins of the academics' support for cultural and linguistic pluralism as fully compatible with pan-Russian nationalism, the article demonstrates that the Bolshevik nationalities policies of the 1920s were strongly influenced by the views of academic Orientalists and the pre-revolutionary Russian intellectual tradition to which the latter belonged.
CITIZENSHIP VERSUS PATRIOTISM IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY ENGLAND
Authors: STAPLETON JULIA
Published: March 2005

This article explores some of the tensions and interaction between two rival conceptions of the relationship between citizenship and patriotism in twentieth-century England. The first was widespread among the intellectual elite and greatly qualified the role of patriotism in sustaining a higher ideal of citizenship. The second was generally the preserve of popular writers and activists who conceived citizenship in terms of patriotic attachment to the English and English-British nation. However, the article maintains that the Edwardian intellectual elite often assumed an homogeneous national culture as the basis of successful citizenship, both local and international. In this regard, despite subjection to increasing strain, continuity as much as change is apparent in conceptions of citizenship up to and including the interventions of Enoch Powell in the debate over mass immigration. Subsequent attempts to ground citizenship in difference rather than sameness have greatly intensified the tension with a more persistent culture of patriotism.
LABOUR, THE LEFT, AND THE STALINIST PURGES OF THE LATE 1930s
Authors: CORTHORN PAUL
Published: March 2005

It is clear that a strand of anti-Stalinism had firmly entered the political discourse of British Labour and the Left by the late 1940s. This was largely a response to mounting Cold War tension and is rightly seen to contrast with their earlier broad support for the Soviet experiment. This article adds to this picture by arguing that anti-Stalinism was first adumbrated in the late 1930s in reaction to the Stalinist purges. Whereas previous accounts have given the impression that the Labour party and the wider Left were largely uninterested in the purges, this article shows instead that they provoked sharp criticisms of Stalin from across the range of Labour and Left opinion. Moreover, it also demonstrates that while certain figures and groupings did choose not to discuss the purges publicly, this was not necessarily because of a lack of interest or knowledge. For the Left the domestic political necessities of supporting the united front meant that, at least temporarily, their real views had to be concealed. More generally, the international pressure of endorsing the Soviet Union as an ally against international fascism inhibited an even more forthright condemnation of Stalin.
GERMAN ESPIONAGE AND BRITISH COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA AND MOZAMBIQUE, 1939–1944
Authors: FEDOROWICH KENT
Published: March 2005

For most of the Second World War, German and Italian agents were actively engaged in a variety of intelligence gathering exercises in southern Africa. The hub of this activity was Lourenço Marques, the colonial capital of Portuguese East Africa (Mozambique). One of the key tasks of Axis agents was to make links with Nazi sympathizers and the radical right in South Africa, promote dissent, and destabilize the imperial war effort in the dominion. Using British, American, and South African archival sources, this article outlines German espionage activities and British counter-intelligence operations orchestrated by MI5, MI6, and the Special Operations Executive between 1939 and 1944. The article, which is part of a larger study, examines three broad themes. First, it explores Pretoria's creation of a humble military intelligence apparatus in wartime South Africa. Secondly, it examines the establishment of several British liaison and intelligence-gathering agencies that operated in southern Africa for most of the war. Finally, it assesses the working relationship between the South African and British agencies, the tensions that arose, and the competing interests that emerged between the two allies as they sought to contain the Axis-inspired threat from within.
THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT AND THE CARTER ADMINISTRATION
Authors: FREEDMAN ROBERT
Published: March 2005

The ‘religious right’ came to prominence in the US during the late 1970s by campaigning on ‘social issues’ and encouraging many fundamentalist and evangelical Christians to get involved in politics. However, the fact that it clashed with ‘born again’ President Jimmy Carter over tax breaks for religious schools believed to be discriminatory, together with its illiberal stances on many issues, meant that it was characterized as an extremist movement. I argue that this assessment is oversimplified. First, many Christian schools were not racially discriminatory, and their defenders resented being labelled as racists. Secondly, few historians have recognized that the Christians involved in the religious right were among the most secularized of their kind. The religious right was often mistakenly categorized alongside earlier American Christian political movements that had displayed extremist and anti-democratic tendencies. The Carter administration's records and oft-ignored religious right ephemeral literature partly substantiate the movement's contention that it was defensive rather than theocratic in nature. One of my conclusions is that more attention must be paid to the subtle nuances of the political and theological views of religious right leaders, because the confusion surrounding the religious right is partly a function of its leaders harbouring internally inconsistent views.
Eine Meta-Analyse unter Einsatz des Random Effects-Modells zur Effektivität kurzfristiger psychologischer Interventionen nach akuter Traumatisierung
Authors: Mitte Kristin , Steil Regina , Nachtigall Christof
Published: March 2005

Zusammenfassung. Theoretischer Hintergrund: In der Sekundärprävention der Posttraumatischen Belastungsstörung (PTB) werden verstärkt kurzfristige Interventionen eingesetzt. Fragestellung: Es wurde die Wirksamkeit dieser Verfahren untersucht und zusätzlich mögliche Einflussfaktoren betrachtet. Methode: Die Integration der bisherigen Ergebnisse erfolgte mittels einer Meta-Analyse unter Nutzung eines Random Effects-Modells. Die Vorteile des statistischen Modells werden beschrieben. 21 Studien konnten integriert werden. Ergebnisse: Weder für die PTB-Symptomatik, noch für die Gesamtsymptomatik zeigte sich eine bedeutsame Effektstärke. Der mittlere Effekt lag nahe Null. Mittels explorativer Analysen wurde der Einfluss von Eigenschaften der Stichprobe untersucht. Das Geschlechterverhältnis zeigte einen signifikanten Zusammenhang, nicht aber der Professionalitätsstatus der Betroffenen. Schlussfolgerung: Die betrachteten Verfahren scheinen nicht als Präventionsmaßnahme für die PTB geeignet zu sein.
Evaluation eines deutschsprachigen Instrumentes zur Erfassung positiver und negativer automatischer Gedanken
Authors: Pössel Patrick , Seemann Simone , Hautzinger Martin
Published: March 2005

Zusammenfassung. Theoretischer Hintergrund: Nach Beck sind negative automatische Gedanken eine wichtige Ursache für Depressionen. Fragestellung: Wie gut sind die Gütekriterien des “Fragebogen positiver und negativer automatischer Gedanken“ (FAG)? Methode: Die psychometrischen Kennwerte des FAG wurden anhand von zwei Stichproben der Allgemeinbevölkerung (n = 352 und n = 171) und einer Patientenstichprobe (n = 59) ermittelt. Ergebnisse: Die drei Skalen des FAG klären zusammen ca. 60% der Varianz nach VARIMAX-Rotation auf und zeigen Interne Konsistenzen zwischen r = .76-.93. In Abhängigkeit vom Ausmaß an Depression, Manie und Angst zeigen sich unterschiedliche Muster positiver und negativer automatischer Gedanken in den Skalen des FAG. Schlussfolgerungen: Mit dem FAG liegt ein zeitökonomisches und reliables Instrument zur Erfassung von positiven und negativen automatischen Gedanken vor.
Erinnertes elterliches Erziehungsverhalten und aktuelle Bindungsorganisation im Erwachsenenalter
Authors: Dick Andreas , Vanderbilt Sonja , Jacot Chantal , Hurni Francesca , Jäggi Christine , Leiggener Evelyne
Published: March 2005

Zusammenfassung. Theoretischer Hintergrund: Personen mit Angststörungen schätzen den Erziehungsstil ihrer Eltern während der Kindheit oft als emotional kalt und kontrollierend ein. Zusammenhänge zwischen Angststörungen und aktueller Erwachsenenbindung wurden bislag jedoch kaum untersucht. Fragestellung: Inwiefern unterscheiden sich Erwachsene mit und ohne Angststörung im elterlichen Erziehungsverhalten und in ihrer aktuellen Bindungsorganisation voneinander? Methode: 26 Personen mit einer Angststörung und 24 Kontrollpersonen (Altersspanne 20 bis 56 Jahre) wurden mit dem Erwachsenenbindungs-Prototypenrating (EBPR) und dem Fragebogen zum erinnerten elterlichen Erziehungsverhalten (FEE) abgeklärt. Ergebnisse: Personen mit Angststörungen schätzten ihre Mutter und ihren Vater als emotional kälter ein und wiesen weniger Sicherheit in der aktuellen Erwachsenen-Bindungsorganisation auf als Kontrollpersonen. Schlussfolgerungen: Die emotionale Wärme der Eltern während der Kindheit stellt möglicherweise ein protektiver Faktor dar, der vor der Entwicklung von Bindungsunsicherheit und Angststörungen schützt.
Zur aktuellen Stimmung von Patienten: Wie relevant ist sie im Therapiegeschehen?
Authors: Koban Christoph , Willutzki Ulrike , Schulte Dietmar
Published: March 2005

Zusammenfassung. Theoretischer Hintergrund: Das Stimmungsmediationsmodell von Robinson schreibt der aktuellen Stimmung von Personen sowohl eine retrospektive als auch eine prospektive Funktion bei der Verarbeitung aktueller Lebensereignisse zu. Die Implikationen des Modells für die Psychotherapie werden untersucht. Fragestellung: Inwieweit kommt der aktuellen Stimmung von Patienten eine Mediatorfunktion im Therapiegeschehen zu? Methode: Im Rahmen einer randomisierten kontrollierten Studie zur Psychotherapie sozialer Phobie (N = 74 Patienten) wurde die zum Ende jeder Therapiesitzung erhobene Stimmung in Beziehung zu Therapieprozess und Sitzungsergebnis gesetzt. Die Zusammenhänge zur Eingangssymptomatik wurden analysiert. Ergebnisse: Es ergeben sich für fast alle Therapiephasen positive Zusammenhänge zwischen Stimmung und Therapieprozess sowie Sitzungsergebnis. Je höher die Symptombelastung vor Therapiebeginn, desto negativer ist die aktuelle Stimmung in der ersten Therapiephase. Schlussfolgerungen: Die Ergebnisse belegen auf die Relevanz der aktuellen Stimmung von Patienten für die Regulation des Therapieprozesses und die Verbesserung des Sitzungsergebnisses.
Paarberatung in und mit Gruppen - eine wirksame Intervention?
Authors: Kröger Christine , Sanders Rudolf
Published: March 2005

Zusammenfassung. Theoretischer Hintergrund: Ehe-, Familien- und Lebensberatungsstellen leisten ein Großteil der psychosozialen Versorgung bei Partnerschaftsstörungen. Obwohl die Wirksamkeit von Ehe- und Paarberatung Gegenstand vorangegangener Untersuchungen war, fehlen Studien zur Effektivität spezifischer eheberaterischer Interventionsformen. Fragestellung: Im Rahmen einer prospektiven Feldstudie wurde die Wirksamkeit von Paarberatung in und mit Gruppen untersucht. Methode: 88 Paaren wurde zu Beratungsbeginn und -ende eine Fragebogenbatterie vorgelegt, die es erlaubt partnerschaftliche und individuelle Belastungen einzuschätzen sowie entsprechende Veränderungen abzubilden. Von 32 Paaren lagen darüber hinaus auch die Daten einer Follow-up-Erhebung (6 Monate nach Beratungsende) vor. Ergebnisse: Die kurzfristige Effektivität entspricht der von Eheberatung im Allgemeinen, langfristig scheint die Paarberatung in Gruppen der herkömmlichen Beratung überlegen zu sein. Schlussfolgerung: Es wird diskutiert, inwieweit die positiven Veränderungen im Follow-up-Zeitraum auf Wirkbedingungen im Gruppensetting zurückzuführen sind.
Using mechanical modeling to constrain fault geometries proposed for the northern Marmara Sea
Authors: Muller Jordan R. , Aydin Atilla
Published: March 2005

In recognition of potential seismic hazard along the North Anatolian fault within the Marmara Sea, geophysical surveys have recently been conducted to collect high‐resolution bathymetry and seismic reflection data. Despite the high quality of the data, fault interpretations by different authors are varied and a conclusive fault geometry within the Marmara Sea remains elusive. This paper presents a mechanical modeling method for constraining proposed fault geometry interpretations. In the model, crustal faults within the Marmara Sea slip in accordance with GPS‐constrained slip rates along deep plate boundary dislocations. We test three fault models proposed by others and show that an interpretation with a series of pull‐apart basins along a master strike‐slip fault best produces the observed deformation pattern within the Marmara Sea. The locations and relative subsidence of the basins along the northern Marmara trough are well matched. The computed slip vectors on the faults in the best fitting model indicate that, except for small faults bounding the Tekirdağ basin, the faults have dominantly right‐lateral slip, with rakes within 15° of horizontal. On the local scale, this suggests that interaction between the segmented strike‐slip faults is the dominant mechanism producing the observed vertical deformation in the Marmara Sea. On the regional scale, if the Marmara Sea faults behaved in this manner over geologic timescales, then right‐lateral plate boundary motion, without an additional component of north‐south extension associated with the Aegean Sea, is sufficient to produce the Marmara Sea pull‐apart basin morphology.
Effects of atmospheric pressure loading and seven‐parameter transformations on estimates of geocenter motion and station heights from space geodetic observations
Authors: Tregoning P. , van Dam T.
Published: March 2005

Variations in fluid loads such as the oceans and the atmosphere deform the surface of the Earth. The accuracy of station coordinates, in particular, heights, that can be estimated depends on how well one can separate these surface deformations from the associated translational motion between the center of mass of the solid Earth and the total Earth (CM). We applied simulated atmospheric pressure loading effects to the coordinates of sites in the CM frame to explore to what level of accuracy both geocenter motion and accurate station coordinates can actually be recovered from geodetic analyses. We found that standard seven‐parameter transformations (three rotations, three translations, scale) generally recover about 80% of the geocenter motion; however, the inclusion of a scale factor permits the aliasing of surface loading deformation, introducing scale errors of up to 0.3 ppb and daily height errors as large as 4 mm. This limits the geophysical studies that can be performed accurately using the results of geodetic analyses where the magnitudes of the signals are small (e.g., tectonic movement of tide gauges, uplift rates for interpreting glacial isostatic adjustment). The quality of the geodetic results is extremely sensitive to the number and distribution of sites used to estimate the transformations and becomes worse when regional (rather than global) sets of sites are used. If the scale factor parameter is omitted, then the amount of aliasing of surface loading effects is reduced considerably and more accurate site velocities and geocenter motion estimates are achieved.
Observations of internal bores and waves of elevation on the New England inner continental shelf during summer 2001
Authors: Pritchard Mark , Weller Robert A.
Published: March 2005

During July–August 2001, oceanographic variability on the New England inner continental shelf was investigated with an emphasis on temporal scales shorter than tidal periods. Mooring and ship survey data showed that subtidal variation of inner shelf stratification was in response to regional Ekman upwelling and downwelling wind driven dynamics. High‐frequency variability in the vertical structure of the water column at an offshore mooring site was linked to the baroclinic internal tide and the onshore propagation of nonlinear solitary waves of depression. Temperature, salinity, and velocity data measured at an inshore mooring detected a bottom bore that formed on the flood phase of the tide. During the ebb tide, a second bottom discontinuity and series of nonlinear internal waves of elevation (IWOE) formed when the water column became for a time under hydraulic control. A surface manifestation of these internal wave crests was also observed in aircraft remote sensing imagery. The coupling of IWOE formation to the offshore solitary waves packets was investigated through internal wave breaking criterion derived in earlier laboratory studies. Results suggested that the offshore solitons shoaled on the sloping shelf, and transformed from waves of depression to waves of elevation. The coupling of inshore bore formation to the offshore solitary waves and the possible impact of these periodic features on mixing on the inner shelf region are discussed.
Variability and forcing of the East Australian Current
Authors: Bowen Melissa M. , Wilkin John L. , Emery William J.
Published: March 2005

The spatial and temporal variability of the East Australian Current (EAC) is investigated using 6 years (1993–1998) of surface geostrophic stream function from an optimal interpolation of altimeter sea surface heights and velocities derived from tracking thermal features in satellite imagery. Variability appears as a series of cyclones and anticyclones propagating southwestward and westward with periods between 90 and 180 days. The behavior of the variability changes over the 6 years. Energy in the mesoscale frequencies moves slowly south and diminishes with more westward propagation in the region where the current separates from the coast. We find no evidence for a consistent forcing of the EAC by mesoscale signals propagating westward from the South Pacific basin. We suggest that the observations are consistent with variability originating between 32°S and 35°S through intrinsic instabilities of the current.
Impacts of aerosols and clouds on forest‐atmosphere carbon exchange
Authors: Min Qilong
Published: March 2005

The impact of aerosols and clouds on CO2 uptake and water use efficiency at Harvard Forest has been studied by using collocated turbulent flux and radiation measurements. Measurements of a multifilter narrowband radiometer provide both direct and diffuse components of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) by product integrals of synthesized spectra, with a normalized action spectrum for canopy photosynthesis. Optical properties of aerosols and clouds are also retrieved from the radiometer data. Optical properties of aerosols and clouds have significant impacts on photosynthesis not only through changes of the total amount of PAR but also through changes of its spectral distribution (or light quality) and its partitioning between direct and diffuse components. The diffuse PAR is much greater under patchy/thin cloud conditions than under aerosol conditions for a given optical depth. The “diffuse radiation use efficiency” coefficients are 3.40 and 1.95 for patchy/thin clouds and aerosols, respectively. Furthermore, the radiation use efficiency of CO2 uptake under clouds which completely block direct beam solar (optically thick clouds) is approximately 57 and 13% higher than under aerosol and patchy/thin clouds, respectively. The water use efficiency also showed significant enhancement as atmospheric conditions changed from aerosols, to patchy/thin clouds, and then to clouds opaque to direct solar radiation. Under optically thick cloud conditions the water use efficiency is almost 5 and 3 times greater than under aerosol and patchy/thin cloud conditions, respectively. These indicate that an increase of diffuse radiation may not be the only factor responsible for the enhancement of carbon assimilation under cloudy conditions. Changes in many other factors, such as temperature, moisture, latent heating, and precipitation, in the presence of clouds may have both direct and indirect influences on carbon assimilation.
Global climatology of inertial instability and Rossby wave breaking in the stratosphere
Authors: Knox John A. , Harvey V. Lynn
Published: March 2005

Climatologies using United Kingdom Met Office assimilated analyses from November 1991 through March 2004 are used to juxtapose the evolution of inertial instability and Rossby wave breaking in longitude, latitude, altitude, and time. The results for the upper and middle stratosphere indicate deep poleward and eastward channels of higher inertial instability frequency extending from the central equatorial Pacific in both winter hemispheres. These corridors of enhanced inertial instability frequency are generally found just poleward of regions of frequent Rossby wave breaking, a result confirmed with a case study drawn from the period of the climatology. Both of these patterns are evident from the stratopause downward into the middle stratosphere, with the frequency of events diminishing with decreasing altitude. Analysis of interannual variability of Rossby wave breaking and inertial instability in the middle stratosphere channels confirms a correlation between them, as well as a possible quasi‐biennial oscillation signal in the early years of the climatology. In the lower stratosphere a channel of enhanced inertial instability frequency exists near east Asia in Northern Hemisphere winter, again just poleward of a Rossby wave breaking maximum. These results generally agree closely in space and time with, and significantly extend, the relatively few previously published climatologies and case studies of episodes of Rossby wave‐triggered inertial instability for the stratosphere.
Spectral infrared analysis of a cirrus cloud based on Airborne Research Interferometer Evaluation System (ARIES) measurements
Authors: Maestri T. , Rizzi R. , Smith Jonathan A.
Published: March 2005

The study compares radiance measurements taken by the Airborne Research Interferometer Evaluation System (ARIES) above a cirrus cloud over the sea with multiple scattering line‐by‐line simulations. The complete data set allows only a partial reconstruction of the main microphysical and geometrical features of the cirrus. However, spectral standard deviation of the radiance signal, which includes the spatial variability of the signal, is also available and is of great importance when comparing the simulations with the measurements. Two measurement sections are analyzed where the cloud shows different transmissivity and the comparison of simulations with measurements shows deviations that are below 1 standard deviation from 600 to 2250 cm−1, except in small spectral intervals. The quality of the simulation results has justified an in‐depth theoretical examination of the diabatic heating of the atmosphere. The main result is that different geometrical configurations, maintaining the cloud top elevation and varying cloud depth but keeping the ice water path constant, produce very similar results in the radiance and fluxes above the cloud and at the surface and, at the same time, very different diabatic heating of the atmosphere inside and below the cloud, which implies very different effects on the evolution of the cloud and its microphysics. From these results the use of additional remote‐sensing tools to define the cloud geometry (for example, a lidar sensor) appears of fundamental importance when the dynamical and microphysical evolution of a cloud layer needs to be investigated.