bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Congenital renal tract anomalies: outcome and follow‐up of 402 cases detected antenatally between 1986 and 2001
Authors: Damen‐Elias H. A. M. , De Jong T. P. V. M. , Stigter R. H. , Visser G. H. A. , Stoutenbeek P. H.
Published: January 2005

Objective

To determine the long‐term prognosis of antenatally detected renal tract anomalies in order to optimize parental counseling.

Methods

This was a follow‐up study of all renal tract abnormalities detected antenatally in a Level 3 ultrasound department between 1986 and 2001. Follow‐up data (median age, 8 years) were retrieved from the records of the Paediatric Urology Department or the attending pediatrician.

Results

A urinary tract anomaly was detected in 408 fetuses. There were four false‐positive diagnoses. From two children follow‐up data were incomplete, leaving 402 cases for analysis. A chromosomal abnormality was present in 7/81 (8.6%) fetuses that had karyotyping. Termination of pregnancy was performed in 55 (13.7%) cases and a further 66 (16.4%) children died during the perinatal period and up to 1 year of age. In 106/121 (26.4% of all fetuses) deceased children the cause of death was directly related to the renal tract anomaly. In the 281 surviving children a total of 545 renal tract anomalies were diagnosed postnatally, requiring a total of 381 surgical interventions in 156 infants. Outcome in survivors was generally good, with impaired renal function in nine infants and hypertension in three (4% of the survivors).

Conclusions

Congenital renal tract anomalies are associated with a high mortality rate, especially when they are structural developmental anomalies of the kidneys. Survivors require multiple operations, but the outcome is generally favorable. Ultrasound diagnosis, especially when made early, of non‐lethal urinary tract anomalies may prevent additional renal damage by timing of delivery and early postnatal treatment. Copyright © 2005 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The effects of serial intravascular transfusions in ascitic/hydropic RhD‐alloimmunized fetuses
Authors: Craparo F. J. , Bonati F. , Gementi P. , Nicolini U.
Published: January 2005

Objective

To evaluate the effects of serial intravascular transfusions on RhD‐alloimmunized fetuses with ascites/hydrops at the time of the first transfusion by measuring multiple hematological/biochemical blood variables.

Methods

Thirty‐one singleton pregnancies were referred for management of RhD alloimmunization. Seven fetuses had hydrops on presentation and were transfused immediately. The remainder underwent weekly ultrasound examinations, and fetal blood sampling and transfusion were performed on development of ascites. In the 104 samples collected overall from the 31 fetuses, glucose, uric acid, urea, creatinine, total protein, total and direct bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), γ‐glutamyltransferase, alkaline phosphatase, lactic dehydrogenase, amylase, pseudocholinesterase (PCHE), creatine kinase, triglycerides and cholesterol were measured and compared with a reference range for non‐anemic fetuses.

Results

The median gestational age at first transfusion was 26 (range, 18–34) weeks. There were three fetal losses after the first transfusion, two of which were due to procedure‐related complications; one further loss occurred. At the first transfusion fetal hematocrit, pO2, total protein, PCHE, creatinine and urea concentrations were significantly decreased compared to reference data, while total and direct bilirubin, AST, ALT, amylase, triglyceride and uric acid concentrations were increased. In all surviving fetuses ascites/hydrops had disappeared by the second transfusion. Fetal pO2, total protein, AST, ALT and PCHE concentrations had normalized by the third transfusion. Correction of fetal anemia did not affect the other variables.

Conclusions

RhD‐alloimmunized fetuses with ascites/hydrops at the time of the first transfusion had a survival rate of 87%. Alterations of several biochemical fetal blood indices are present at the first sampling/transfusion, but most variables normalize with intravascular transfusions. Copyright © 2005 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Human gait simulation with a neuromusculoskeletal model and evolutionary computation
Authors: Hase Kazunori , Miyashita Kazuo , Ok Sooyol , Arakawa Yoshiki
Published: January 2005

This paper describes a human gait animation system with a precise neuromusculoskeletal model and evolutionary computation. The neuromusculoskeletal model incorporates 14 rigid bodies, 19 degrees of freedom, 60 muscular models, 16 pairs of the neural oscillators, and other neuronal systems. By changing the search parameters and the evaluative criteria of the evolutionary search process, we demonstrate various locomotive patterns, such as normal gait, pathological gait, running and ape‐like walking. The proposed simulation system takes not only kinematic data but also in vivo dynamic data such as energy consumption information into consideration, so that the resultant locomotion patterns are natural and valid from a biomechanical point of view. Hence the simulation system can also be used for finding a biologically appropriate physical model to realize a desired gait by simultaneously modifying the body dynamics parameters with the neuronal parameters. This capability creates a novel application of human gait simulation systems, such as rehabilitation tool design and consultation for physically handicapped people. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Shape‐adaptive 3‐D mesh simplification based on local optimality measurement
Authors: Park In Kyu , Lee Sang Wook , Lee Sang Uk
Published: January 2005

Mesh simplification is the process of reducing the number of triangles in a mesh representation of object surface. For a given level of detail or error tolerance, the conventional mesh simplification algorithms maximize the edge length globally, without explicitly considering local object shape. In this paper, we present a shape‐adaptive mesh simplification algorithm that locally maximizes edge length, depending on local shape. The proposed algorithm achieves shape‐adaptive simplification by iteratively maximizing edges between vertices, based on comparison with the ‘optimal’ edge lengths derived from local directional curvatures for a given error tolerance. Edge‐based processing facilitates the local shape adaptation and preserves sharp features. Experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed algorithm, by showing good visual quality and extremely small approximation error. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
XRF analysis of micronutrients in endive grown on soils with sewage sludge
Authors: Vázquez Cristina , Bárbaro Néstor , López Silvia
Published: January 2005

A simple and fast method was developed for the determination of traces of Fe, Mn, Cu, Cr, Ni, Zn and Mo in endive using wavelength‐dispersive x‐ray fluorescence spectrometry. Plants were grown in different sewage sludge compositions for 60 days in greenhouse conditions. Samples were compacted and analyzed after drying, milling and homogenization. The method was validated using certified standard reference materials. The results were compared with those obtained by atomic absorption spectrometry. Good agreement for all elements was obtained. The detection limits were found to be Fe 1, Mn 3, Cu 2, Cr 5, Ni 1, Zn and Mo 3 µg g−1. These results permitted the evaluation of the potential use of sewage sludge as an agricultural amendment. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
X‐ray propagation through single crystals in an anomalous scattering range and determination of permittivity tensor components by transmission experiments
Authors: Vedrinskii R. V. , Novakovich A. A. , Kozyrev V. E. , Kraizman V. L. , Sachenko V. P.
Published: January 2005

Simple equations are obtained which enable one to describe x‐ray propagation through single crystals in an anomalous scattering range when Bragg diffraction does not take place and the angle between the initial x‐ray wave and crystal surface significantly exceeds the critical value. Using the results obtained we develop a method for determining the components of the permittivity tensors of non‐gyrotropic crystals of arbitrary symmetry by transmission experiments. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Contributions of double interaction processes to x‐ray fluorescence intensity
Authors: Tirao G. , Stutz G.
Published: January 2005

An algorithm for calculating the contribution of double x‐ray interaction processes to the primary fluorescence emission is described. Four second‐order processes including one scattering event (elastic or inelastic) and one photoelectric absorption were considered. Compton scattering events were more accurately described than in previous work by using a relativistic double‐differential cross‐section, which takes into account binding energy effects as well as momentum distribution of electrons of all atomic orbitals. Calculations of the contribution of double interaction processes were performed considering various experimental conditions (different sample thicknesses, atomic numbers, incident and outgoing angles and incident photon energies). The results show that for energies ranging from a few tens of keV up to 120 keV scattering contributions to the Kα1 fluorescence line vary from ∼1% to several tens of percent (exceeding 50% for light elements). The relative scattering contribution is a rapidly increasing function of the sample thickness and reaches a saturation regime at a thickness of the order of the mean free path of the photons. The saturation value depends on the photon energy. Considerable deviations from a previous theoretical formalism were found. This discrepancy must be attributed to a more realistic description of single scattering events included in the present formalism. The present results are in very good agreement with those calculated from the transport theory. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Further investigation of majolica ceramics assigned to the Puebla (Mexico) provenance by radioisotope induced x‐ray fluorescence
Authors: LaBrecque J. J. , Vaz J. E. , Cruxent J. M.
Published: January 2005

A simple radioisotope x‐ray fluorescence method for determining the relative mass fractions of rubidium, strontium and zirconium combined with principal component analysis was employed to investigate specimens of archaeological majolica ceramics tentatively assigned to the Puebla (Mexico) provenance by stylistic features. Principal component analysis with this x‐ray fluorescence data could only separate the samples of one of the four groups from the other three as suggested from the thermoluminescence glow curves. Similarly, when the thermoluminescence data were analyzed by the principal component technique only the same group could be separated from the three others. However, the X‐ray fluorescence method could confirm and separate the samples of the four groups with the additional information from the thermoluminescence data. Hence it can be concluded that the clay and/or temper materials from the different specimens of the four groups are different. The difference in the clay materials could be from contamination or different sources of the components of the clay paste themselves. It is concluded that the difference is due to the clay source, since samples found at the same locations belonged to more than one group. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Erasmus Lecture 2004 Identity in change – a European dilemma?
Authors: STRÖMHOLM STIG
Published: January 2005

Whether there is or has ever been such a thing as a European identity of some real substance and what changes that identity, if found to exist, has undergone in the course of history; at what time and why it was lost, if it no longer exists, and why it cannot be said ever to have existed at all, are questions which are among the favourite subjects of a certain kind of after-dinner speech and the welcoming or concluding addresses at academic – and indeed, of late, also political – gatherings. The fact that these questions are thus frequently dealt with in a branch of oral literature that is not above suspicion does not mean that they are devoid of importance or should be avoided in serious contexts. It seems clear, on the other hand, that they can be treated with intellectual honesty only if formulated in such a way that the answers can be determined, in the first place, by a clear choice of criteria for establishing identity and difference, but also by an equally explicit and clear choice of the geographical and chronological perspectives in which the application of these criteria is to take place.

It is obvious that the broader the chosen historical perspective, the narrower in range are those elements of European life and history that can be said to have retained a minimum of identity over time. If you adopt a truly multi-secular perspective, one which still has room for what a French thinker has aptly called les grands récits, ‘the great tales’, the myths of peoples and tribes engaged in founding, migration, conquest and defeat, it must be admitted that a very modest identifiable identity remains. Likewise, the observer who insists on referring to the whole area, which is today called Europe, and also on contemporaneousness, is likely to find a meagre catch in his nets, were it only because time and change travel – or at least, travelled, in a not too distant past – at very different speeds over that vast area.
The stages of new political regimes: the transformation of capital cities
Authors: BLOCKMANS WIM
Published: January 2005

Cities, and especially capital cities, have always offered a stage for political ceremonies, festivals, processions, triumphs and struggles. The built mass in the centre, the axial streets and the accesses of capital cities consisting for a considerable part of public buildings and open spaces which have practical and symbolic functions for the state. By their shape, location and decoration, the buildings express the vision of political power as the rulers wanted it to be disseminated. This paper focuses on the changes introduced in existing cityscapes by rulers representing new ideologies, especially in Istanbul, Moscow and Berlin.
Introduction. What the postcolonial means to us: European literature(s) and postcolonialism
Authors: D'HAEN THEO
Published: January 2005

‘Postcolonialism’ and ‘postcolonial’ are fashionable terms in literary studies these days. Henk Wesseling, in his ‘Editorial’ in the European Review (12(3): 267–271, 2004), with regard to another fashionable term, ‘empire,’ warned that the same word may mean different things to different people. So too it is with ‘postcolonial’ and ‘postcolonialism’.

To begin with, there is the matter of orthography. I have used unhyphenated ‘postcolonial’ and ‘postcolonialism.’ In fact, the hyphenated forms are the older and more conventional. Ashcroft, Griffiths and Tiffin use them in their 1989 The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Literatures, still a landmark publication in the field, as does John Thieme in his 1996 Arnold Anthology of Post-Colonial Literatures in English. Both restrict the use of ‘post-colonial’ to ‘writing by those peoples formerly colonized by Britain’ (Ref. 1, p. 1) and ‘the anglophone literatures of countries other than Britain and the United States’ (Ref. 2, p. 1). Both spurn chronology, reaching back to the 19th and early 20th centuries for examples of ‘post-colonial’ literature. Ashcroft et al. and Thieme thoroughly differ, though, as to the term's precise charge. Ashcroft et al. see ‘post-colonialism’ as covering ‘all the culture affected by the imperial process from the moment of colonization to the present day,’ and this because they find there to be ‘a continuity of preoccupations throughout the historical process initiated by European imperial aggression’ (Ref. 1, p. 2). Thieme finds this use of the term problematic, because of its association with ‘writing and other forms of cultural production which display an oppositional attitude towards colonialism, which are to a greater or lesser degree anti-colonial in orientation’ (Ref. 2, p. 1-2).
An equal music, an alien world: postcolonial literature and the representation of European culture
Authors: ALBERTAZZI SILVIA
Published: January 2005

The Postcolonial representation of European culture can alter our (European) perspectives on Western arts. The case of the novel An Equal Music by the Indian writer Vikram Seth is particularly interesting. Although set in Europe (between London, Vienna and Venice) and dealing with European characters, situations, landscapes, and cultural myths, the book offers a peculiarly Postcolonial reading of our classical music. Therefore, by applying Said's contrapuntal analysis to Postcolonial writing, I deal with ‘What the Postcolonial means for us’, taking into account, besides European Literature and Postcolonialism, also the relationship between European music and the Postcolonial sensibility, using Said's and Kundera's essays as keys to Seth's musical and fictional world.
Prediction of global outcome with acute neuropsychological testing
following closed-head injury
Authors: PASTOREK NICHOLAS J. , HANNAY H. JULIA , CONTANT CHARLES S.
Published: January 2005

Delaying assessment until emergence from post-traumatic amnesia
increases completion rates, but this practice causes variable time
delays from the date of injury to testing, which can complicate the
interpretation of research findings. In the current study, the
performance of 105 head injury survivors on simple tests of language
comprehension and attention was used to predict global outcome. It was
hypothesized that 1 month performance on these measures would aid in
the prediction of Disability Rating Scale (DRS) and Glasgow Outcome
Scale (GOS) scores collected at 6 months post injury. Only raw scores
on the modified Test of Complex Ideational Material accounted for a
significant amount of the variance in DRS scores (4.4%) above that
accounted for by age, education, Glasgow Coma Scale score, and pupil
response. However, testability at 1 month post injury on all four tests
consistently accounted for a larger portion of the variance in DRS
scores (10.1–13.2%) and significantly improved prediction of GOS
scores. Galveston Orientation and Amnesia Test scores collected at 1
month post injury accounted for substantially less variance in DRS
scores (7.7–8.4%). Neuropsychological data, including the
testability of patients, collected uniformly at 1 month following
injury can contribute to the prediction of global outcome.
(JINS, 2004, 10, 807–817.)
Indices of slowness of information processing in head injury
patients: Tests for selective attention related to ERP latencies
Authors: SPIKMAN JACOBA M. , VAN DER NAALT JOUKJE , VAN WEERDEN TIEMEN W. , VAN ZOMEREN ADRIAAN H.
Published: January 2005

We explored the relation between neuropsychological (attention tests
involving time constraints) and neurophysiological (N2 and P3
event-related potential (ERP) latencies) indices of slowness of
information processing after closed head injury (CHI). A group of 44
CHI patients performed worse than healthy controls on most
neuropsychological indices, and had significantly longer ERP latencies.
Significant correlations between neuropsychological measures and ERP
latencies were found only for the 3 subtasks of the Stroop test. In
additional multiple regression analyses P3 latency appeared the best
predictor in Stroop Color only. A possible explanation is that stimulus
evaluation processes comprise a relatively large part of performance on
this subtask. In Stroop Color-Word, response related processes are
supposed to play a greater role, reducing the role of the preceding
input related processes. The absence of significant correlations
between P3 latency and scores on the other attention tests suggests a
relatively small role of stimulus evaluation processes in these tasks,
implying that these tasks are not sensitive to slowness of these
processes. The Stroop test appears to be the only attention test
administered in which slowness in stimulus evaluation processes
requiring selective attention contributes significantly to the delay in
final performance on the task. (JINS, 2004, 10,
851–861.)
Length perception and production of normal subjects in proximal
versus distal peripersonal space
Authors: KWON JAY C. , LEE BYUNG H. , JI JUNG MIN , JEONG YONG , KIM BONG JIK , HEILMAN KENNETH M. , NA DUK L.
Published: January 2005

We investigated whether the perception or production of a given line
length in normal subjects varies according to where in peripersonal
space the line is perceived or produced. We also investigated the
influence of the direction of movement used to make the line. In
Experiment 1, blindfolded normal subjects were asked to estimate
distances while the examiner moved the subject's hand in proximal
(medial) or distal (lateral) space, moving centripetally or
centrifugally. The subjects showed a spatial effect, perceiving the
same length as shorter in proximal space than distal space. This result
could be related to either a proximal spatial attentional bias or an
anisometric representation of spatial distances. In Experiment 2, we
attempted to dissociate these hypotheses by studying blindfolded normal
subjects, who were requested to produce horizontal lines of a given
length (100 or 200 mm) in proximal versus distal peripersonal
space using centripetal or centrifugal movements. Centrifugal movements
in proximal space were the longest; centrifugal movements in distal
space were the shortest; in between were the proximal centripetal and
distal centripetal movements which did not differ from each other.
These results suggest that in peripersonal space the perception of
length in normal subjects is most consistent with anisometric mental
representation where the size of mental representations of length units
decreases as a function of the distance from the subject's
midsagittal plane. Length production, however, may depend on an
interaction of the anisometric mental representation and the
premotor/intentional factors. (JINS, 2004, 10,
913–919.)
Functional MRI neuroanatomic correlates of the Hooper Visual
Organization Test
Authors: MORITZ CHAD H. , JOHNSON STERLING C. , MCMILLAN KATHRYN M. , HAUGHTON VICTOR M. , MEYERAND M. ELIZABETH
Published: January 2005

The Hooper Visual Organization Test (VOT), a commonly applied
neuropsychological test of visual spatial ability, is used for
assessing patients with suspected right hemisphere, or parietal lobe
involvement. A controversy has developed over whether the inferences of
this test metric can be assumed to involve global, lateralized, or
regional functionality. In this study, the characteristic visual
organization and object naming aspects of the VOT task presentation
were adapted to a functional MR imaging (fMRI) paradigm to probe the
neuroanatomic correlates of this neuropsychological test. Whole brain
fMRI mapping results are reported on a cohort of normal subjects.
Bilateral fMRI responses were found predominantly in the posterior
brain, in regions of superior parietal lobules, ventral
temporal-occipital cortex, and posterior visual association areas, and
to a lesser extent, the frontal eye fields bilaterally, and left
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The results indicate a general brain
region or network in which VOT impairment, due to its visuospatial and
object identification demands, is possible to be detected. Discussion
is made of interpretive limitations when adapting neuropsychological
tests to fMRI analysis. (JINS, 2004, 10,
939–947.)
Attention function after childhood stroke
Authors: MAX JEFFREY E. , ROBIN DONALD A. , TAYLOR H. GERRY , YEATES KEITH O. , FOX PETER T. , LANCASTER JACK L. , MANES FACUNDO F. , MATHEWS KATHERINE , AUSTERMANN SHANNON
Published: January 2005

We investigated attentional outcome after childhood stroke and orthopedic diagnosis in medical controls. Twenty-nine children with focal stroke lesions and individually matched children with clubfoot or scoliosis were studied with standardized attention and neuroimaging assessments. Stroke lesions were quite varied in location and commonly involved regions implicated in Posner's model of attention networks. Children with stroke lesions performed significantly more poorly regarding attention function compared with controls. Performance on the Starry Night, a test demanding alerting and sensory-orienting but not executive attention function, was significantly associated with lesion size in the alerting and sensory-orienting networks but not the executive attention network. Furthermore, earlier age at lesion acquisition was significantly associated with poorer attention function even when lesion size was controlled. These findings support the theory of dissociable networks of attention and add to evidence from studies of children with diffuse and focal brain damage that early insults are associated with worse long-term outcomes in many domains of neuropsychological function. In addition, these results may provide clues towards the understanding of mechanisms underlying attention in children. (JINS, 2004,10, 976–986.)
The role of factor analysis in construct validity: Is it a myth?
Authors: BOWDEN STEPHEN C.
Published: January 2005

In their recent article, Delis et al. (2003) criticized the use of factor analysis for evaluating construct validity. Focusing on a key component of their argument, they reported a high correlation between two memory test scores in a community sample but a low correlation between the same scores in a sample of people with Alzheimer's disease. As a consequence, they argued that the presence of a “dissociation” between the two variables in the Alzheimer's sample contradicted the single-factor result derived from studies of community samples and other clinical groups: “Two variables that share a high degree of variance in normal participants … and thus appear to measure a unitary cognitive construct, can dissociate into two distinct functions, but only in certain homogeneous patient populations” (p. 940).
How do neuropsychologists define cognitive constructs? Further thoughts on limitations of factor analysis used with normal or mixed clinical populations
Authors: JACOBSON MARK W. , DELIS DEAN C. , HAMILTON JOANNE M. , BONDI MARK W. , SALMON DAVID P.
Published: January 2005

In a recent study, we empirically demonstrated limitations in traditional ways that psychologists have used factor analysis to define cognitive constructs (Delis et al., 2003). Our criticism of factor analysis was not directed at this statistical method per se, but rather at how it has often been employed by psychologists to test cognitive constructs. Specifically, we pointed out shortcomings in using this techniquewith normal or mixed clinical populations. We argued that the factor-analytic studies of memory tests with normal or mixed clinical populations often yielded solutions in which measures of immediate and delayed memory loaded on the same factor. This particular use of factor analysis can mask important distinctions between critical cognitive functions that have been demonstrated using other research methods, such as experimental manipulations or case studies. We then conducted a factor-analytic study that empirically demonstrated that, whereas immediate and delayed memory measures load on the same factor when using normal or mixed clinical samples, these measures load onseparatefactors when using a homogenous population of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). We drew the conclusion that factor analytic techniques can still be used asonemethod for exploring conceptual relationships, but only if these methods are used as part of a systematic, programmatic exploration involving separate confirmatory factor analyses using multiple homogenous patient populations. In the first published reply to our study, Larrabee (2003) pointed out other limitations, stating that application of factor-analytic techniques to a single test that yields multiple measures may result in global, simplistic solutions due to method variance, which is the tendency of different variables from the same test to correlate significantly.
Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex Differences, but Were
Afraid to Be Perceived as Politically Incorrect: Brain Gender,
by M. Hines. 2004. New York: Oxford University Press. 307 pp., $49.50.
Authors: McGlone Jeannette
Published: January 2005

Hines finds it impossible to make distinctions between the terms
“sex” and “gender,” hence their refreshing,
non-political interchangeability in her new book. After examining
hormonal and brain-based data, Hines concludes that science cannot yet
inform us which differences are determined biologically, socially,
and/or both.
MiFil: A method to characterize seafloor swells with application to the south central Pacific
Authors: Adam Claudia , Vidal Valerie , Bonneville Alain
Published: January 2005

We propose a filtering method to characterize large‐scale depth anomalies. The MiFil method (for minimization and filtering) requires two stages: a first one to roughly remove the volcano component by minimizing the depth anomaly and a second one to smooth the shape and totally remove the small spatial length scale remaining topography using a median filter. The strength of this method, directly applicable on two‐dimensional grids, is that it does not require any assumption on the location, amplitude, or width of the large‐scale feature to characterize, except its minimal width. We only consider the spatial length scale of the features to remove. Application to volcanic chains of the south central Pacific is presented, and the results lead to a better understanding of the tectonics and volcanism emplacement of the zone. The Society is the only “classical” hot spot that corresponds to the simple interaction of a plume with the lithosphere and for which a buoyancy flux of 1.58 ± 0.15 Mg s−1 is obtained. The Marquesas volcanic chain, although quite comparable, presents a swell morphology that prevents such interpretation and quantification. For the Tuamotu and Cook‐Austral volcanic chains, no reliable quantification can be made because the depth and geoid anomalies are caused by several phenomena occurring at different depths that cannot be separated.
High 3He/4He ratios in peridotite xenoliths from SW Japan revisited: Evidence for cosmogenic 3He released by vacuum crushing
Authors: Yokochi Reika , Marty Bernard , Pik Raphaël , Burnard Pete
Published: January 2005

In isotope studies of magmatic systems, magmatic He is preferentially extracted by crushing minerals under vacuum, whereas cosmogenic and/or radiogenic He isotopes are released by mineral melting as they are produced and remain in the mineral's matrix. Interpretation of magma source composition or surface residence time depends on the assumption that vacuum crushing releases insignificant cosmogenic 3He. We reinvestigated the helium isotopic composition of olivines in xenoliths from Takashima and Kurose volcanoes, Japan, which were reported to have high 3He/4He, interpreted as mantle plume contributions [Sumino et al., 2000; Ikeda et al., 2001]. Combining vacuum crushing and heating protocols, we show that samples from both localities contain considerable concentrations of cosmogenic 3He. Significantly, up to 25% of the matrix‐sited helium was extracted by prolonged crushing. It seems possible that previous high 3He/4He ratios measured in samples from Kurose and Takashima were the result of the high cosmogenic 3He concentrations, and do not imply a mantle plume beneath Japan. For Kurose lavas sampled about 1 m above present‐day sea level, exposure ages computed from cosmogenic 3He accumulation are similar to K‐Ar eruption ages of 1.13 ± 0.12 Ma, implying that erosion of the sampling site has been limited and that the samples have not been below sea level for prolonged periods during the last Myr. Helium extraction from the matrix by crushing cannot be explained by volume diffusion because the diffusivity of helium in olivine is slow at the crushing temperature and therefore requires an additional mechanism to enhance the release. A fracture‐related extraction mechanism may be responsible for this phenomenon, and a semiquantitative model is developed assuming that the increase in specific surface area during crushing represents newly created fractures. According to this model, He released from about 10 unit cells of olivine from the fracture results in helium extraction of only 1%, but the spallation damage tracks along fractures may provide sufficient pathway for observed helium extraction of up to 25%.
Multi‐year monitoring of rift propagation on the Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica
Authors: Fricker H. A. , Young N. W. , Coleman R. , Bassis J. N. , Minster J.‐B.
Published: January 2005

We use satellite imagery from four sensors (Multi‐angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR), Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM), and RADARSAT and ERS Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to monitor the lengths of two rifts on the Amery Ice Shelf, from 1996 to 2004. We find that the rifts have each been propagating at a steady annual rate for the past 5 years. Superimposed on this steady rate is a seasonal signal, where propagation rates are significantly higher in the summer period (i.e., September–April) than in the winter period (i.e., April–September). Possible causes of this summer‐winter effect are changing properties of the ice mélange, which fills the rifts, and seasonal changes in ocean circulation beneath the ice shelf.
Revising the Bering Strait freshwater flux into the Arctic Ocean
Authors: Woodgate Rebecca A. , Aagaard Knut
Published: January 2005

The freshwater flux through the Bering Strait into the Arctic Ocean is important regionally and globally, e.g. for Chukchi Sea hydrography, Arctic Ocean stratification, the global freshwater cycle, and the stability of the Atlantic overturning circulation. Aagaard and Carmack [1989] estimated the Bering Strait freshwater flux as 1670 km3/yr (relative to 34.8 psu), assuming an annual mean transport (0.8 Sv) and salinity (32.5 psu). This is ∼1/3rd of the total freshwater input to the Arctic. Using long‐term moored measurements and ship‐based observations, we show that this is a substantial underestimate of the freshwater flux. Specifically, the warm, fresh Alaskan Coastal Current in the eastern Bering Strait may add ∼400 km3/yr. Seasonal stratification and ice transport may add another ∼400 km3/yr. Combined, these corrections are larger than the interannual variability observed by near‐bottom measurements and near‐surface measurements will be necessary to quantify this flux and its interannual variability.
Mesospheric charged dust layer: Implications for neutral chemistry
Authors: Gelinas L. J. , Lynch K. A. , Kelley M. C. , Collins R. L. , Widholm M. , MacDonald E. , Ulwick J. , Mace P.
Published: January 2005

The presence of a dust layer in the Earth's mesosphere is generally accepted on theoretical grounds (Hunten et al., 1980), but its experimental verification has been difficult and its influence on mesospheric dynamics and chemistry is not yet understood. Four sounding rockets carrying detectors designed to measure nanometer‐sized charged dust particles were flown from Poker Flat in March 2002. Ground‐based lidars were used to measure neutral sodium and iron densities during the launches in an effort to determine whether dust has an influence on mesospheric chemistry, specifically, as related to atomic Na and Fe. In situ measurements of charged dust and plasma densities were compared with the ground‐based lidar data. Strong correlations between the charged dust profile and the neutral Fe profile were observed on all four flights. This finding suggests that dust serves as a reservoir for atomic iron in the mesosphere.
Visual stratigraphy of the North Greenland Ice Core Project (NorthGRIP) ice core during the last glacial period
Authors: Svensson Anders , Nielsen Søren Wedel , Kipfstuhl Sepp , Johnsen Sigfus J. , Steffensen Jørgen Peder , Bigler Matthias , Ruth Urs , Röthlisberger Regine
Published: January 2005

A continuous high‐resolution record of digital images has been obtained from the North Greenland Ice Core Project (NorthGRIP) ice core (75.1°N, 42.3°W) in the depth interval from 1330 m to the bedrock at 3085 m. The ice core stratigraphy is clearly visible throughout the glacial period with the most frequent and brightest visible layers appearing during the coldest events. Down to a depth of 2600 m the horizontal layering is very regular; below this depth, small irregularities in the layering start to appear, and below 2800 m the visual stratigraphy becomes more uncertain, perhaps because of penetration into climatically warmer ice. Comparison of the visual stratigraphy with high‐resolution continuous records of chemical impurities and dust reveals a high degree of correlation, which indicates that the visible layers are caused by these impurities. A new approach is used to automatically determine annual layer thicknesses from the visual stratigraphy record by carrying out a frequency analysis of the most prominent visible layers in the profile. The result gives strong support for the NorthGRIP timescale model.
Effects of bedrock permeability on hillslope and riparian groundwater dynamics in a weathered granite catchment
Authors: Katsuyama Masanori , Ohte Nobuhito , Kabeya Naoki
Published: January 2005

To investigate the effects of bedrock permeability on the linkage between hillslope and riparian groundwater in a weathered granite headwater catchment, the groundwater dynamics were studied using intensive hydrometric and tracer observations. Water flow from the hillslope, through the hillslope/riparian interface, and into the riparian zone consists of two components: saturated through flow on the soil‐bedrock interface during storms and groundwater flow within the permeable bedrock occurring year‐round, except during the driest season. Most of the water, which will contribute to the stream, infiltrates the largest part of the catchment and the hillslope area and recharges the deeper groundwater body. Therefore bedrock permeability is an important factor in determining the hillslope‐riparian linkage.
Nitric Oxide Inhibits Caspase Activation and Apoptotic Morphology but Does Not Rescue Neuronal Death
Authors: Zhou Ping , Qian Liping , Iadecola Costantino
Published: January 2005

Nitric oxide (NO) has been shown to inhibit apoptotic cell death by S-nitrosylation of the catalytic-site cysteine residue of caspases. However, it is not clear whether in neurons NO-mediated caspase inactivation leads to improved cell survival. To address this issue, we studied the effect of NO donors on caspase activity and cell survival in cortical neuronal culture treated with the apoptosis inducer staurosporine (STS) and camptothecin. In parallel, cell viability was assessed by the MTS assay and MAP2 staining. We found that NO donors ((±)- S-nitroso- N-acetylpenicillamine, S-nitrosoglutathione, and NONOates) dose-dependently inhibited caspase-3 and -9 activity induced by STS and camptothecin. The reduction in caspase-3 activity was, in large part, because of the blockage of the proteolytic conversion of pro-caspase-3 to active caspase-3. NO donors also inhibited the appearance of the classical apoptotic nuclear morphology. However, inhibition of both caspase activity and apoptotic morphology was not associated with enhancement of cell viability. Thus, inhibition of caspase and apoptotic morphology by NO donors does not improve neuronal survival. The data suggest that inhibition of caspase by NO unmasks a caspase-independent form of cell death. A better understanding of this form of cell death may provide new strategies for neuroprotection in neuropathologies, such as ischemic brain injury, associated with apoptosis.
Increased Plasma Glutamate in Stroke Patients Might Be Linked to Altered Platelet Release and Uptake
Authors: Aliprandi Angelo , Longoni Marco , Stanzani Lorenzo , Tremolizzo Lucio , Vaccaro Manuela , Begni Barbara , Galimberti Gloria , Garofolo Rosanna , Ferrarese Carlo
Published: January 2005

Experimental studies have shown the role of excitotoxicity in the pathogenesis of ischemic brain lesions, and glutamate levels have been found to be elevated in CSF and plasma from patients, early after stroke. In this study, we investigated whether platelets could be involved in the mechanism of altered plasma glutamate levels after stroke. Forty four patients, from 6 hours to 9 months after ischemic stroke, 15 age-related healthy controls and 15 controls with stroke risk factors or previous transient ischemic attack were enrolled. Glutamate plasma levels, platelet glutamate release after aggregation and platelet glutamate uptake were assessed. Plasma glutamate levels were increased up to 15 days after the ischemic event in stroke patients, and the levels at day 3 were inversely correlated with the neurologic improvement between day 3 and 15. Ex vivo platelet glutamate release was decreased by 70% in stroke patients, suggesting previous in vivo platelet activation. Moreover, platelet glutamate uptake in these patients was decreased by 75% up to 15 days and was still reduced 90 days after stroke. Our data show a prolonged increase of glutamate in plasma after stroke, which might presumably be linked to altered platelet functions, such as excessive release of the amino acid or impaired uptake.
Pharmacokinetics and penetration of danofloxacin from the blood into the milk of cows
Authors: SHEM‐TOV M. , RAV‐HON O. , ZIV G. , LAVI E. , GLICKMAN A. , SARAN A.
Published: January 2005

The single‐dose disposition kinetics of danofloxacin were determined in clinically normal lactating cows after intravenous (i.v.) and intramuscular (i.m.) administration of the drug at 1.25 mg/kg. The drug concentrations in blood serum and milk were determined by microbiological assay methods and the data were subjected to kinetic analysis. The mean i.v. and i.m. elimination half‐lives (t½el) in serum were 54.9 and 135.7 min, respectively. The steady‐state volume of distribution (Vss) was 2.04 L/kg. The drug was quickly absorbed after i.m. injection but a ‘flip flop’ effect was clearly evident and bioavailability was > 100%. Penetration of danofloxacin from blood into milk was rapid and extensive with drug concentrations in milk exceeding those in serum beginning 90–120 min after i.v. and i.m. administration and onwards. Milk danofloxacin concentrations equal to or higher than the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for pathogenic Gram‐negative bacteria andMycoplasmaspecies were maintained over ≈ 24 h.

 Concentrations greater than the MIC forStaphylococcus aureuswere maintained in the milk for 12 h.
Pore-size evaluation by single-sided nuclear magnetic resonance measurements: Compensation of water self-diffusion effect on transverse relaxation
Authors: Casieri Cinzia , De Luca Francesco , Fantazzini Paola
Published: January 2005

The determination of penetration depth and distribution of water at surfaces is essential to knowledge of the state of conservation of Cultural Heritage items and materials, such as frescoes, stone, brick, wood, and paper. Water can penetrate the surface of an object, coming from either an external or an internal source, and in general the moisture content of the surface region is the cause of various decay phenomena such as microfractures and disintegration. The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) approach can be very powerful for the evaluation of the state of fine arts materials. Not only the water saturation and∕or the porosity of the material can be evaluated but also information on material pore-size distributions can be obtained by monitoring the distributions of relaxation times of the transverse (T2) and longitudinal (T1) components of the H1 magnetization of the trapped water. The drawback is that generally the sample does not fit into standard NMR magnets, and for in situ application, single-sided NMR devices have to be used. Therefore, the standard methods to get NMR parameters are not always valid, and some alternative procedures have to be performed. For example, in strongly inhomogeneous magnetic fields due to the geometrical features of single-sided NMR devices, the transverse relaxation is greatly influenced by the molecular self-diffusion even at the shortest interpulse time available for a Carr–Purcell–Meiboom–Gill (CPMG) sequence. In this paper we show how the dephasing effect due to molecular self-diffusion can be corrected by using the “constant echo time method.” We report an attempt to recover the corrected T2 distribution in well-characterized porous materials saturated with water, with data acquired in the highly inhomogeneous magnetic field of a single-sided NMR device. The results are discussed and compared with those acquired on the same samples in the highly homogeneous magnetic field of a traditional NMR instrument.
Coarse-grained description of polymer blends as interacting soft-colloidal particles
Authors: Yatsenko G. , Sambriski E. J. , Guenza M. G.
Published: January 2005

We present a theoretical approach which maps polymer blends onto mixtures of soft-colloidal particles. The analytical mesoscale pair correlation functions reproduce well data from united atom molecular dynamics simulations of polyolefin mixtures without fitting parameters. The theory exactly recovers the analytical expressions for density and concentration fluctuation structure factors of soft-colloidal mixtures (liquid alloys).
Charge induced pattern formation on surfaces: Segregation in cylindrical micelles of cationic-anionic peptide-amphiphiles
Authors: Solis F. J. , Stupp S. I. , de la Cruz M. Olvera
Published: January 2005

Micelles, vesicles, and films composed of two species of incompatible heterogenous molecules exhibit full internal segregation of the component species. This macroscopic segregation can be inhibited by oppositely charging the two different molecular species. The degree of compatibility achieved by the charges leads to either fully homogenous mixtures or to local segregation and the possible formation of regular patterns. We investigate the induction of periodic surface patterns by the presence of opposite charges in flat films and cylindrical micelles. In the strong segregation limit the incompatibility between species can be described by a line tension parameter γ. The size of the patterns formed is of the order of a characteristic size L∼(γ/σ2)1/2, where σ is the surface charge density. The pattern symmetry on flat surfaces is function only of the fraction of area covered by the components, f: lamellar for 0.34<f<0.66 and hexagonal otherwise. In cationic and anionic mixtures aggregated into cylindrical micelles the symmetry and size of the surface charged domains depends also on the radius R of the cylinder. For large radii the patterns are similar to those in the plane, but for small radii only lamellar patterns are formed. At high salt concentration the surface domain size jumps discontinuously to an infinite value, resulting in macroscopic phase segregation.
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absorption and Raman spectra of the OClO molecule: A three-dimensional time-dependent wave packet study
Authors: Sun Zhigang , Lou Nanquan , Nyman Gunnar
Published: January 2005

Time-dependent wave packet calculations of the (A 2A2←X 2B1) absorption and Raman spectra of the OClO molecule are reported. The Fourier grid Hamiltonian method in three dimensions is employed. The X 2B1 ground state ab initio potential energy surface reported by Peterson [J. Chem. Phys. 109, 8864 (1998)] is used together with his corresponding A 2A2 state surface or the revised surface of the A 2A2 state by Xie and Guo [Chem. Phys. Lett. 307, 109 (1999)]. Radau coordinates are used to describe the vibrations of a nonrotating OClO molecule. The split-operator method combined with fast Fourier transform is applied to propagate the wave function. We find that the ab initio A 2A2 potential energy surface better reproduces the detailed structures of the absorption spectrum at long wavelength, while the revised surface of the A 2A2 state, consistent with the work of Xie and Guo, better reproduces the overall shape and the energies of the vibrational levels. Both surfaces of the A 2A2 state can reasonably reproduce the experimental Raman spectra but neither does so in detail for the numerical model employed in the present work.