bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impulse response function for a scalar wave source in a compliant baffle
Authors: Strandberg M. W. P.
Published: October 2005

The velocity potential impulse response function is computed for a cylindrical piston in a compliant baffle. It is shown that, in general, the impulse response is that of a piston in a noncompliant baffle, plus a small wake, or reverberation, which dies out in a time the order of the transit time of the wave to the point in space. The slow decay of the wake means that the energy in the wake from a short pulse will be considerable fraction of the total energy. The solution is obtained in closed from from a baffle which matches the fluid impedance. Second sound heat pulse propagation in helium II obeys the scalar wave equation and it will have a second sound heat pulse impulse response which is isomorphous with that of the pressure wave in a fluid. It is pointed out that the analyses of the transient electromagnetic field of a vertical dipole antenna above a conducting earth, and the seismic transients in a layered earth can be of use in discussing the acoustic problem explored here.
Asymptotic methods for the first compressional head wave arrival in a fluid-filled borehole
Authors: Tsang L. , Kong J. A.
Published: October 2005

Asymptotic results are obtained for the first compressional head wave arrival in a fluid-filled borehole with a modified asymptotic technique. The results are verified with direct numerical integrations and shown to be quite different from those obtained with the ordinary asymptotic techniques. The modified asymptotic technique accounts for the effect of an extraneous pole, which is neglected in the ordinary asymptotic method. The basic assumption in the modified asymptotic method is that the observation point must be far away from the source point, whereas in the ordinary asymptotic technique, the frequency is assumed to be large. The pressure responses of the first compressional arrival are illustrated and compared. It is found that the amplitudes of the compressional arrivals are strongly dependent on the Poisson’s ratio and the compressional velocity of the formation.
Investigating the MESA (Multipoint Electrotactile Speech Aid): The transmission of connected discourse
Authors: Sparks David W. , Ardell Lee Ann , Bourgeois Michelle , Wiedmer Beatrix , Kuhl Patricia K.
Published: October 2005

Three normal-hearing young adults were tested in their reception of connected discourse materials under two receiving conditions; visual-reception alone (lipreading) and visual reception in conjunction with an electrotactile speech aid (MESA). Subjects were artificially deafened with earplugs and white noise; all stimuli were delivered live-voice using a special tracking procedure. Analysis of the data suggests that after an initial period of learning, combined visual and electrotactile receptive performance exceeds lipreading-alone performance. After extensive learning however, performance in lipreading alone or MESA plus lipreading is practically equivalent.
Fatigue and recovery of the human acoustic stapedius reflex in industrial noise
Authors: Borg Erik , Nilsson Roland , Lidén Gunnar
Published: October 2005

The fatiguability of the acoustic stapedius muscle reflex in an actual noisy industrial environment was investigated in normal-hearing subjects. In a laboratory situation a small depression was found with a considerable individual variability . The stapedius reflex recovered slowly, approximately as a linear function of time. In a field study on an entire day of exposure in a ship-building yard the reflex depression was on the average 4 dB in response to a stimulation of 2000 Hz 10 min after the end of the workday. This corresponds to less than 8 dB immediately at the end of the exposure.
Comparison of WKB and finite difference calculations for a two-dimensional cochlear model
Authors: Steele Charles R. , Taber Larry A.
Published: October 2005

There are many points of uncertainty in the subject of cochlear models. In this paper only the question of efficient computing methods is addressed. For the cochlear model with a one-dimensional approximation for the fluid motion, Zweig, Lipes, and Pierce [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 59, 975–982 (1976)] have shown that the WKB method agrees well with a direct numerical integration. For the two-dimensional fluid model, Neely [E.D. thesis, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (1977)] has shown that a direct finite difference solution is an order of magnitude faster than the integral equation approach used by Allen [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 61, 110–119 (1977)]. In the present work, a formal WKB solution is derived following Whitham [Linear and Nonlinear Waves (Wiley, New York, 1974)]. The advantage of this formulation is simplicity, but the disadvantage is that no error estimate is available. We find that the numerical results from the WKB solution agree well with those of Neely (1977), while the computer time is reduced by another order of magnitude. Thus, the WKB method seems to offer the satisfactory accuracy, efficiency, and flexibility for treating the more realistic cochlear models.
Sound absorption in sea water: A third chemical relaxation
Authors: Mellen R. H. , Simmons V. P. , Browning D. G.
Published: October 2005

Sound absorption in sea water is dominated by chemical relaxations involving magnesium sulfate at higher frequencies (relaxation frequency fr∠100 kHz) and boric acid at lower frequencies (fr∠1 kHz). A third intermediate-frequency relaxation involving magnesium and carbonic acid has been found. Like the boric acid relaxation, the absorption increases exponentially with pH in the sea water range.
Image method for efficiently simulating small-room acoustics
Authors: Allen Jont B. , Berkley David A.
Published: October 2005

Image methods are commonly used for the analysis of the acoustic properties of enclosures. In this paper we discuss the theoretical and practical use of image techniques for simulating, on a digital computer, the impulse response between two points in a small rectangular room. The resulting impulse response, when convolved with any desired input signal, such as speech, simulates room reverberation of the input signal. This technique is useful in signal processing or psychoacoustic studies. The entire process is carried out on a digital computer so that a wide range of room parameters can be studied with accurate control over the experimental conditions. A fortran implementation of this model has been included.
Acoustical design and evaluation of Christchurch Town Hall, New Zealand
Authors: Marshall A. Harold
Published: October 2005

The Christchurch Town Hall (2650 seats), which was opened in 1972, was designed primarily as a choral symphony hall. Reverberation time (125 Hz–2 kHz) in excess of 2.2 s with the hall full, is provided by a volume of 20 500 m3 and generally reflective surfaces. The basic design aim, audibility of early lateral reflections, is achieved by large interior oblique reflectors which hang in the space from the walls at about half-ceiling height. They are, thus, within and independent of boundaries of the reverberant volume. The resulting temporal and spatial distribution of energy in the reflection sequences gives this hall an unusual combination of reverberance, envelopment, and clarity. Measurements of T60, T15, EDT, and integrated early energy are presented and discussed in explanation of the combination of reverberance and clarity experienced in the hall.
Binaural dissimilarity and optimum ceilings for concert halls: More lateral sound diffusion
Authors: Schroeder M. R.
Published: October 2005

Ceiling shapes for concert halls are proposed that, on the basis of prior extensive subjective evaluations, should result in high listener preference of the hall’s acpistoca; response to music. These shapes are based on the premise that as little as possible of the early sound energy should arrive at a listener’s ears in the ’’median’’ plane (the vertical symmetry plane through the listener). While this goal is inherently approached in old-style, high-and-narrow halls, its realization in modern, low-ceiling halls requires special ceiling shapes and surface structures to keep early, median-plane sound away from the listener’s ears.
A robust formulation of an optimum cross-spectral beamformer for line arrays
Authors: Maksym J. N.
Published: October 2005

For linear arrays of equispaced hydrophones the power-directional spectrum can be computed efficiently from the cross-spectral matrix by means of the fast Fourier transform. We show how this can be done when the estimator structure is the conventional beamformer, and also when the estimation is accomplished by optimum (minimum variance) beamforming. It is shown that by computing a measure of superdirectivity it is possible to form a more robust estimate of the power-directional spectrum as a linear combination of the other two estimates. Since the computations are done with the averaged cross-spectral matrix the additional computer loading is small.
Further studies on the Schroeder–Hall hair-cell model
Authors: Geisler C. Daniel , Le Sanh , Schwid Howard
Published: October 2005

The Schroeder–Hall hair-cell model [M. R. Shroeder and J. L. Hall, ’’Model for mechanical to neural transduction in the auditory receptor,’’ J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 55, 1055–1060 (1974)] was further explored using additional stimulus waveforms and analysis techniques. The model is shown to have other interesting properties such as the ability to generate realistic two-tone interactions. Amended to limit the growth of transmitter release, the model also produces realistic adaptation and incremental response data. Other amendments improved high-intensity period histogram waveshapes. No one amendment, however, allowed the model to produce both realistic adaptation curves as well as period histogram waveforms that faithfully mimicked physiological data.
The pressure transformation from a diffuse sound field to the external ear and to the body and head surface
Authors: Kuhn George F.
Published: October 2005

The sound-pressure-level transformations from a diffuse sound field to the head surface and the torso surface were measured. Transformations were measured on a manikin and on two subjects for frequencies between 0.2 and 10.0 kHz using 1/3-octave bandwidth random white noise. The pressure-level transformations to the center of the concha volume and to the ear canal entrance as well as to a microphone in an earlike coupler (using a manikin and six different-sized pinnas) were also measured. the maximum gain at the coupler microphone is approximately 15 dB at 2.7 kHz. This transformation to the head and torso surface depends strongly on the distance between the microphone and the heard or torso, and on the absorption of the head and torso, but not on the fine features of the head. Variations in pinna size have their greatest effect on the pressure levels in the outer ear above approximately 6 kHz, where higher-order acoustic modes are strongly excited in the pinna.
Sound absorption in sea water by a third chemical relaxation
Authors: Fisher F. H.
Published: October 2005

Evidence is presented for a third chemical relaxation producing sound absorption in the ocean. After accounting for sound absorption in the Atlantic and Pacific due to boric acid, magnesium sulfate, and water, there appears to be a third relaxation at 3 kHz (possibly higher) with αλmax=0.26×10−5 at 4°. The existence of this relaxation was determined by using the Fisher–Simmons equation for sound absorption based on Simmon’s laboratory work. For the Pacific data, the boric acid contribution was reduced to 0.44 that of the Atlantic. The third relaxation was deduced initially from the shot data of Morris (50–400 Hz) and the cw data of Lovett (750, 1500, and 3000 Hz) in the Pacific Ocean at about 30° N. The third relaxation is consistent with the Atlantic Ocean data of Thorp. The new relaxation may be the one predicted by Garland, Patel, and Atkinson for MgHCO3 for which αλmax=0.58×10−6 at 9 kHz at 25°.
A note on the forced responses of damped rings
Authors: Lu Y. P.
Published: October 2005

The steady-state responses of discontinuously constrained damped ring composites are presented. Attention is concentrated on the vibrations of the ring composites which have a number of small mass segments closely spaced and attached to the ring, internally or externally, in full circumference by a viscoelastic material. The significance of this note is demonstrating that a continuously constrained damped ring analysis can be applied to the closely spaced discontinuously constrained damped ring with appropriate modifications to account for the discrete nature of the mass segments.
Theory of optimal plane diffusers
Authors: Berkhout A. J. , van Wulfften Palthe D. W. , de Vries D.
Published: October 2005

In 1975, Schroeder proposed an interesting method to construct diffusers based on a specific reflectivity distribution according to maximum length sequences. In 1977, this method was refined by replacing the maximum length sequences by a quadratic residue code. In this paper we will show that Schroeder’s approach is debatable. An improved theoretical treatment will be given and numerical results will be shown. From our results it will be clear that design of optimum diffusers is significantly more complicated than suggested in the literature.
Application of the level statistical analyzer to the study of acoustical reverberation processes
Authors: Moreno-Arranz A. , García-Zaragoza J. , Costa E.
Published: October 2005

Based on theoretical considerations and experimental results, the suitability of level statistical analyzers for the measurement of the reverberation time of enclosures is demonstrated. Particular attention is paid to the fact that these instruments provide the time evolution of this acoustical variable, thus facilitating a more realistic use of it.
Nonspecular acoustic backscattering from finite plates
Authors: Rumerman M. L.
Published: October 2005

A method of calculating levels of farfield nonspecular acoustic backscattering from finite plates at frequencies above coincidence, due to scattering of flexural waves from the edges of the plate, is presented. For water-load steel plates at frequency–thickness products above 20 kHz-in., the flexural vibration can be adequately represented by the edge component and the supersonic wave. The amplitudes of these components are found by satisfying the boundary conditions, and the reradiated sound levels can then be calculated. The Timoshenko–Mindlin plate model is used, and comparison of calculated results with experimental results shows good agreement, even down to 15 kHz–in.
An acoustic FM–CW radar for atmospheric sounding
Authors: Perona G. E. , Pisani R. U.
Published: October 2005

A prototype FM–CW radar for atmospheric sounding and some of its applications are described. The prototype generates a signal whose frequency increases linearly from 1830 to 2160 Hz during a time interval of 10 s, the excitation being at intervals of 20 s. The principle of operation is based on the fact that received echos reflected from inhomogeneities at height h, will have a frequency lower by an increment of (df/dt) (2h/c) than that currently being transmitted. Typical data taken with the prototype are compared with analogous data obtained with a pulsed SODAR.
Variability of low-frequency ambient sea noise
Authors: Bannister R. W. , Denham R. N. , Guthrie K. M. , Browning D. G. , Perrone A. J.
Published: October 2005

In March 1976, measurements were made of the ambient sea noise in the South Fiji Basin to the northeast of New Zealand. As part of the analysis, the standard deviation of the noise in each 1/3- octave band between 10–500 Hz was computed. The effect of receiver depth, wind speed, and frequency was examined. There is not a marked dependence of standard deviation on receiver depth. When no shipping was present, the standard deviation was less than 2.5 dB at all frequencies and decreased to under 0.1 dB above 100 Hz. When shipping dominated, the standard deviation was much higher below 100 Hz, being 5.5–7 dB at 10 Hz but decreasing to less than 2 dB above 200 Hz. This behavior is explained by a model in which a single ship dominates. A comparison with the results from other ocean areas indicates three regimes for ship dominated noise: (1) single-ship dominated areas where the standard deviation decreases with frequency; (2) distant multiple-ship dominated areas where the standard deviation increases with frequency; and (3) local multiple-ship dominated areas where the standard deviation is almost independent of frequency.
A study of bending waves in fluid-loaded thick plates
Authors: Pierucci Mauro , Graham Thomas S.
Published: October 2005

Exact, steady-state solutions, representing straight-crested free bending waves, have been calculated for the infinite Timoshenko–Mindlin plate with fluid loading. In general there are three different types of waves, two of which are roughly similar to plate waves in vacuum, and a third wave which is unique to fluid-loaded plates. The unusual behavior of this third free bending wave is the subject of this paper. Calculated solutions are presented as loci of complex free bending wavenumbers for steel plates and for different conditions of fluid loading. The principal finding of this paper is that the loci of bending wavenumber, and the character of waves, change drastically with fluid density. Behavior under one fluid-loading condition thus cannot be easily extrapolated to predict behavior in a different fluid. As a result of this work, it is concluded that nearfield solutions to plate radiation problems are more complicated than previously thought. One result of particular interest is that free bending waves in steel plates with water on one side are qualitatively different from those occurring with water on both sides. The results therefore have a very practical value.
A stochastic model for transient acoustic emission signals
Authors: Egle D. M.
Published: October 2005

A transient acoustic emission signal is represented as the product of a decaying exponential and a stationary Gaussian random process with zero mean. A relationship between the number of positive-going crossings (counts) at a given level, the decay rate, the zero crossing rate, and the mean square of the stationary portion of the signal is developed. Experimentally determined level-crossing data for both simulated and actual acoustic emission signals show good agreement with the derived relationship. A technique for extracting the three signal parameters from experimental data is given.
Passive range estimation using subarray parallax
Authors: Hinich Melvin J.
Published: October 2005

Consider a large aperture linear array which is detecting coherent radiation from a source. Suppose that the array is processed as a string of subarrays consisting of adjacent sensors. Assume that the signal is a plane wave whose coherence distance is of the order of the subarray lengths. There is a systematic difference among the subarray bearing estimates due to parallax. A statistical method for using the parallax effect to estimate range is presented. Approximate expressions for the variance and bias of the estimator are derived under the assumption that the gain of each subarray is large. These theoretical results are compared with values obtained using artificial data for several parameter values.
Hearing loss from simulated work-week exposure to impulse noise
Authors: Henderson D. , Hamernik R. P. , Hynson K.
Published: October 2005

Six monaural chinchillas were exposed to a repetitive, reverberant, impulse noise for a total of five days, 8 h per day. The average peak overpressure within the holding cage was 113 dB. The reverberation time (pressure fluctuation envelope within 20 dB of peak) was 160 ms. Auditory thresholds were measured at 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 8 kHz before and after each day’s exposure using either the average-evoked response technique or shock avoidance conditioning. After the last exposure, recovery was monitored for five successive days. Final thresholds were obtained starting at 30 days postexposure after which the animals were sacrificed for cochlear histology. The high frequencies (4, 8 kHz) showed a daily median shift of 40 dB and a 27 dB recovery before the following day’s exposure. The low frequencies (0.25, 0.5 kHz) were shifted 35 dB after each day’s exposure with a 15 dB recovery overnight. Final median audiograms showed little permanent threshold shift. The cochleagrams for two test animals were found to be normal while the remaining four displayed 10%–40% losses in hair cells at specific cochlear sites.
Suppression effects in backward and forward masking
Authors: Weber Daniel L. , Green David M.
Published: October 2005

The differences in the suppression effect observed in forward and backward masking are consistent with an interpretation that suppression in forward masking results from a reduction of the effective level of the masker in the aditory periphery, and that the suppression in backward masking is influenced by these peripheral processes, but is dominated by additional, central processes. This conclusion is supported by experiments that show differences in the effect of ipsilateral versus contralateral presentation of the suppressor, and differences in the amount of the suppression observed as a function of the level, duration, and frequency of the suppressor.
Anticipatory coarticulation: Some implications from a study of lip rounding
Authors: Bell-Berti Fredericka , Harris Katherine S.
Published: October 2005

The anticipation of articulatory features, in particular lip rounding in anticipation of a rounded vowel, has been reported to occur as many as four segments before the segment for which the feature is specified. In the date presented here, we find that the moter commands for the rounding gesture for /u/ begin a fixed time before the onset of the vowel. This timing is unaffected by the number of consonant segments in the preceding string. Thus, the initiation of lip rounding appears to be linked to other features of the vowel articulation.
Reflex activation of laryngeal muscles by sudden induced subglottal pressure changes
Authors: Baer Thomas
Published: October 2005

In measuring the effect of subglottal pressure changes on fundamental frequency (F0) of phonation, the effects of changing laryngeal muscle activity must be eliminated. Several investigators have used a strategy in which pulsatile increases of subglottal pressure are induced by pushing on the chest or abdomen of a phonating subject. Fundamental frequency is then correlated with subglottal pressure changes during an interval before laryngeal response is assumed to occur. The present study was undertaken to repeat such an experiment while carefully monitoring electromyographic (EMG) activity of some laryngeal muscles, to discover empirically the latency of the laryngeal response. The results showed a consistent response to each push, with a latency of about 30 ms. Despite this response, analyses of fundamental frequency versus subglottal pressure changes during the interval of constant EMG activity were in general agreement with previously published values. With respect to the nature of the electromyographic response itself, its timing was found to be within the range of latencies appropriate for peripheral feedback, and was also similar to that for an acoustically−or tactually−elicited startle reflex.
Physiological control of sibilant duration: Insights afforded by speech compensation to dental prostheses
Authors: Hamlet Sandra L. , Cullison Bonita L. , Stone Maureen L.
Published: October 2005

Temporal relationships among tongue contact, phonation, and presence of frication were examined for /s/ and /z/. In cases where /s/ and /z/ were produced with a supraglottal articulation of the same duration, the duration of the resulting frication was 17 ms longer for /s/. The difference can be attributed to glottal activity. The presence of an unfamiliar dental prosthesis in the mouth caused the tongue to contact the alveolar ridge sooner and release later. This physiological effect was reflected in lengthening of frication for sibilants, but the acoustical consequences were greater and more reliable for /z/ than for /s/. Reasons for this difference were sought in adaptation of timing of tongue contact, and in aerodynamic conditions expected for voiced versus voiceless sibilants. A rapid adaptation of tongue contact timing was found, with the adaptation being greater for /s/. Timing of vocal fold adduction at the end of unvoiced sibilants, and its aerodynamic consequences, are suggested to contribute to the relative stability of /s/ acoustical durations.
On transferring fundamental-frequency contours from one utterance to another
Authors: Witten Ian H.
Published: October 2005

A semiautomatic procedure is described for transferring the fundamental-frequency contour of a natural utterance to another utterance with identical semantic and syntactic attributes but with different lexical content. For sentences containing a price in cents embedded in a fixed carrier, paired comparison tests using the resynthesized original utterance as a standard indicate that listeners prefer the original pitch contours in only 60% of cases. However, the deviation from the null hypothesis of equal preference was significant at the 0.01% level.
Envelope spectra for signals and noise in vertically directional beams
Authors: Anderson Victor C.
Published: October 2005

A vertical line array operated from the research platform FLIP was used to obtain directional samples of deep-water signal transmission and background noise over a period of three days. The data are analyzed to obtain estimates of envelope spectra for both signal and noise. Significant differences between the envelope spectra of signals and noise are observed. Comparisons are also made between the acoustic signal on single hydrophones and those from the electrically steered beams. The single hydrophone exhibited a much higher temporal variability of amplitude than did the beam data. Limited evidence indicates that spatial variations across the array were not solely due to interference between major multipath arrivals, but may be, instead, scintilation produced by an inhomogenous medium.
Energy processing techniques for stress wave emission signals
Authors: Duncan Hibbert A.
Published: October 2005

This paper describes the construction of two circuits capable of measuring the energy of transient signals, in particular, stress wave emission (SWE) signals. Energy of SWE signals cannot be measured by conventional energy meters since these meters require a repetitive signal, and by nature SWE signals are nonrepetitive. Compared to the more popular threshold-crossing technique, the energy processor gives a more accurate indication of the energy released from a system under stress. The constructions are based on the theory that there is a definite linear relationship between the true signal energy and the area under the envelope of the squared signal. A theoretical development of this relationship and experimental results showing the linearity for one of the circuits is also included.
On acoustic intensity measurements in the presence of mean flow
Authors: Munro David H. , Ingard K. Uno
Published: October 2005

It is shown that the technique of measuring acoustic intensity by means of the cross correlation between nearby microphones cannot, in general, be extended to situations in which there is mean flow. However, it may be possible to apply this technique to measure intensities in ducts with mean flow, at frequencies below their cutoff frequency.
The effects of recall on reporting injury and poisoning episodes in the National Health Interview Survey
Authors: Warner M , Schenker N , Heinen M A , Fingerhut L A
Published: October 2005

Objective:To examine effects of length of time between injury or poisoning and interview on the number of reported injury and poisoning episodes in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). (Hereinafter, both injuries and poisonings will be referred to as “injuries”.)

Design:The NHIS collects data continuously on medically attended injuries occurring to family members during the three months before interview. Time between injury and interview was established by subtracting the reported injury date from the interview date. Values were multiply imputed for the 25% of the episodes for which dates were only partially reported.

Main outcome measures:An analysis of mean square error (MSE) was used to quantify the extent of errors in estimated annual numbers of injuries and to compare the contributions of bias and variance to these errors.

Results:The lowest estimated MSEs for annualized estimates for all injuries and for less severe injuries were attained when the annualized estimates were based on 3–6 elapsed cumulative weeks between injury and interview. The average weighted number of injuries reported per week per year was 8% lower in later weeks (weeks 6–13) than in earlier weeks (weeks 1–5) for all episodes, and 24% lower in later weeks than in earlier weeks for contusions/superficial injuries, with both differences being statistically significant. For fractures, however, the averages in the two periods were statistically similar.

Conclusions:The error associated with the estimated annual number of injuries was large with a three month reference period for all injuries and for less severe injuries. Limiting analysis to episodes with up to five weeks between injury and interview has statistical, intuitive, and analytic appeal for all injuries and for less severe injuries.
Factors associated with bicycle helmet use among young adolescents in a multinational sample
Authors: Klein K S , Thompson D , Scheidt P C , Overpeck M D , Gross L A
Published: October 2005

Objective:To determine factors associated with variation in bicycle helmet use by youth of different industrialized countries.

Design:A multinational cross sectional nationally representative survey of health behaviors including symptoms, risk taking, school setting, and family context.

Setting:School based survey of 26 countries.

Subjects:School students, ages 11, 13, and 15 years totaling 112 843.

Outcome measures:Reported frequency of bicycle helmet use among bicycle riders.

Results:Reported helmet use varied greatly by country from 39.2% to 1.9%, with 12 countries reporting less than 10% of the bicycle riders as frequent helmet users and 14 countries more than 10%. Reported helmet use was highest at 11 years and decreased as children’s age increased. Use was positively associated with other healthy behaviors, with parental involvement, and with per capita gross domestic product of the country. It is negatively associated with risk taking behaviors. Countries reported to have interventions promoting helmet use, exemplified by helmet giveaway programmes, had greater frequency of reported helmet use than those without programmes.

Conclusions:Bicycle helmet use among young adolescents varies greatly between countries; however, helmet use does not reach 50% in any country. Age is the most significant individual factor associated with helmet for helmet using countries. The observation that some helmet promotion programmes are reported for countries with relatively higher student helmet use and no programmes reported for the lowest helmet use countries, suggests the possibility of a relation and the need for objective evaluation of programme effectiveness.
Reaching an underserved population with a randomly assigned home safety intervention
Authors: Hendrickson S G
Published: October 2005

Objective:To access an underserved, mobile segment of a monolingual Spanish speaking population and to improve maternal self efficacy for home safety behaviors using a culturally appropriate intervention.

Design:A pre- and post-test experimental design tested differences in maternal childhood injury health beliefs (MCIHB) and controllable safety hazards (CHS). Participants were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Baseline data assessed demographic and study variables comparability. The intervention included counseling, assessment of maternal safety practices, and provision of safety items.

Setting:A non-urban area in Texas where low income, largely migrant Hispanics represent the majority of residents.

Participants:Eighty two mothers of 1–4 year old children.

Results:The 95% retention rate of an itinerant, hard to reach population suggests that minority participants may be receptive to culturally appropriate home visits. The intervention group demonstrated improved self efficacy for home safety behaviors (F (2, 77)  = 7.50, p = 0.01). Mothers with stronger self efficacy and fewer perceived barriers had fewer accessible in-home hazards. Observed home hazard predictors were: (a) never being married; (b) poor home repair, (c) lower self efficacy for safety behaviors; and (d) control group status.

Conclusions:Safety items coupled with a home visit tailored to child age and maternal culture was an effective intervention in a hard to reach population. This study contributes to designing research for a monolingual population with limited local language proficiency and community residency. Injuries represent a major source of health disparities in these neglected populations.
Child and adolescent injury as a result of falls from buildings and structures
Authors: Pressley J C , Barlow B
Published: October 2005

Objective:To examine incidence, demographic risk factors, and patterns of injury resulting from falls from buildings and structures in areas with and without a legislation based prevention programme.

Design and setting:The Health Care Cost and Utilization Project (KID-HCUP) was used to produce national estimates of hospital admissions due to falls from buildings in the US. Areas of New York with and without window guard legislation were identified through the New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS).

Subjects:Children and adolescents aged 0–18 years.

Interventions:Legislation based window fall prevention programme with enforcement.

Main outcome measures:Hospitalization for injury as a result of falls from buildings and structures in areas with and without enforced mandatory window guard legislation.

Results:New York City has a higher proportion of the population residing in multifamily dwellings with 10 or more units compared with the nation (53.8%v12.6%, p<0.0001), but the incidence of injury resulting from falls from buildings is nearly half that observed in the US. For young children, warm weather risks begin earlier and extend later than previously reported. Incidence in very young minority children is nearly twice that of whites. Nearly 90% of children aged 0–4 years fall at home, but the proportion decreases linearly with age.

Conclusions:Window guards are associated with reduced injury resulting from falls from buildings and should be mandated in multifamily dwellings where small children reside. Prevention programmes for young children should be initiated in early spring and continued through fall.
RECENT RESULTS ON B DECAYS: Rare B Decay Highlights + Belle $b \to s\bar{q}q$ Time-dependent CPV
Authors: SAKAI Y.
Published: October 2005

Highlights on recent experimental results on rare decays from asymmetric B-factories are reported. Also, the results on time-dependent CP violation measurements for decay modes where [Formula: see text] penguin diagram dominate from Belle are reported.
STATUS OF CHARM FLAVOR PHYSICS
Authors: SHIPSEY I.
Published: October 2005

The role of charm in testing the Standard Model description of quark mixing and CP violation through measurements of lifetimes, decay constants and semileptonic form factors is reviewed. Together with Lattice QCD, charm has the potential this decade to maximize the sensitivity of the entire flavor physics program to new physics. and pave the way for understanding physics beyond the Standard Model at the LHC in the coming decade. The status of indirect searches for physics beyond the Standard Model through charm mixing, CP-violation and rare decays is also reported.
NEW RESULTS FOR HEAVY FLAVOR AND QCD TESTS AT THE TEVATRON
Authors:   FOR THE CDF AND D0 COLLABORATIONS., LUCCHESI DONATELLA
Published: October 2005

The latest results for QCD and Heavy flavor at the Tevatron are summarized. The most recent results on Jet physics are discussed in the light of searching for new physics and to study the contribution of soft interactions to the hard process. The production of c and b-hadrons and the their decay properties can be precisely measured at the Tevatron. Lifetimes, branching fractions and CP asymmetries for several decay modes are discussed. In particular the prospects for Bsmixing at the Tevatron are presented.
Current Concepts in Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura
Authors: Tsai Han-Mou
Published: October 2005

Recent advances have demonstrated that thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), characterized by widespread thrombosis in the arterioles and capillaries, is caused by deficiency of a circulating zinc metalloprotease, ADAMTS13. Two types of TTP are recognized: autoimmune TTP, caused by inhibitory antibodies of ADAMTS13, and hereditary TTP, caused by genetic mutations of ADAMTS13. This article reviews the characteristics and function of ADAMTS13, the mechanism by which ADAMTS13 deficiency may lead to thrombosis, and the causes of ADAMTS13 deficiency. It also discusses how the new knowledge may improve the diagnosis and treatment of this previously mysterious disorder.
Sleep, Memory, and Plasticity
Authors: Walker Matthew P. , Stickgold Robert
Published: October 2005

Although the functions of sleep remain largely unknown, one of the most exciting hypotheses is that sleep contributes importantly to processes of memory and brain plasticity. Over the past decade, a large body of work, spanning most of the neurosciences, has provided a substantive body of evidence supporting this role of sleep in what is becoming known as sleep-dependent memory processing. We review these findings, focusing specifically on the role of sleep in (a) memory encoding, (b) memory consolidation, (c) brain plasticity, and (d) memory reconsolidation; we finish with a summary of the field and its potential future directions.
On compactness of lattices
Authors: Vlad Carmen D.
Published: October 2005

Let X be an arbitrary set and L a lattice of
subsets of X. We denote by I(L) the set of those zero‐one‐valued nontrivial, finitely additive
measures on A(L), the algebra generated by
L, and we introduce other subsets of
I(L). We study compactness/normality
properties either relating to a single lattice L or relating
to a pair of lattices L1 ⊂ L2 of subsets of X.
Semicompatibility and fixed point theorems in fuzzymetric space using implicit relation
Authors: Singh Bijendra , Jain Shishir
Published: October 2005

The concept of semicompatibility has been introduced in fuzzy
metric space and it has been applied to prove results on existence
of unique common fixed point of four self‐maps satisfying an
implicit relation. Recently, Popa (2002) has employed a similar
but not the same implicit relation to obtain a fixed point theorem for d‐complete topological spaces. All the results of this paper
are new.
On the maximum modulus of a polynomial and its derivatives
Authors: Dewan K. K. , Mir Abdullah
Published: October 2005

Let f(z) be an arbitrary entire function and M(f, r) = max|z|=r|f(z)|. For a polynomial P(z), having no zeros in |z| < k, k ≥ 1, Bidkham and Dewan (1992) proved max|z|=r|P′(z)| ≤ (n(r+k)n−1/(1+k)n)max|z|=1|P(z)| for 1 ≤ r ≤ k. In this paper, we generalize as well as improve
upon the above inequality.
Exact representations for tumour incidence for some density‐dependent models
Authors: Parthasarathy P. R. , Dietz Klaus
Published: October 2005

Carcinogenesis is a multistage random process involving generic
changes and stochastic proliferation and differentiation of normal
cells and genetically altered stem cells. In this paper, we
present the probability of time to tumour onset for a
carcinogenesis model wherein the cells grow according to a
birth and death process with density‐dependent birth and death
rates. This is achieved by transforming the underlying system of
difference equations which results in a continued fraction. This
continued fraction approach helps us to find the complete
solutions. The popular Moolgavkar‐Venzon‐Knudson (MVK)
model assumes constant birth, death, and transition rates.
A note on the flow induced by a constantly accelerating edge in anOldroyd‐B fluid
Authors: Fetecau C. , Prasad Sharat C.
Published: October 2005

Analytical expressions for the velocity field and the tangential
stresses that are induced due to a constantly accelerating edge in
an Oldroyd‐B fluid have been established for all values of
material constants. The solutions that have been obtained satisfy
the governing differential equations and all the imposed initial
and boundary conditions. These solutions reduce to those for the
Maxwell, second‐grade, and Navier‐Stokes fluid as limiting cases.
Exact solutions such as those determined here for an unsteady
problem serve a dual purpose. They have relevance to an
interesting physical problem and the solutions can also be used to
check the efficacy of the flows of such fluids in more complicated
flow domains.
Both Microtubule-Stabilizing and Microtubule-Destabilizing Drugs Inhibit Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α Accumulation and Activity by Disrupting Microtubule Function
Authors: Escuin Daniel , Kline Erik R. , Giannakakou Paraskevi
Published: October 2005

We have recently identified a mechanistic link between disruption of the microtubule cytoskeleton and inhibition of tumor angiogenesis via the hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) pathway. Based on this model, we hypothesized that other microtubule-targeting drugs may have a similar effect on HIF-1α. To test that hypothesis, we studied the effects of different clinically relevant microtubule-disrupting agents, including taxotere, epothilone B, discodermolide, vincristine, 2-methoxyestradiol, and colchicine. In all cases, HIF-1α protein, but not mRNA, was down-regulated in a drug dose–dependent manner. In addition, HIF-1α transcriptional activity was also inhibited by all drugs tested. To further examine whether these effects were dependent on microtubule network disruption, we tested the ability of epothilone B to inhibit HIF-1α protein in the human ovarian cancer cell line 1A9 and its β-tubulin mutant epothilone-resistant subclone 1A9/A8. Our data showed that epothilone B treatment down-regulated HIF-1α protein in the parental 1A9 cells but had no effect in the resistant 1A9/A8 cells. These observations were confirmed by confocal microscopy, which showed impaired nuclear accumulation of HIF-1α in parental 1A9 cells at epothilone B concentrations that induced extensive microtubule stabilization. In contrast, epothilone B treatment had no effect on either microtubules or HIF-1α nuclear accumulation in the resistant 1A9/A8 cells. Furthermore, epothilone B inhibited HIF-1 transcriptional activity in 1A9 cells, as evidenced by a hypoxia response element-luciferase reporter assay, but had no effect on HIF-1 activity in the resistant 1A9/A8 cells. These data directly link β-tubulin drug binding with HIF-1α protein inhibition. Our results further provide a strong rationale for testing taxanes and epothilones in clinical trials targeting HIF-1 in cancer patients.
Overexpression ofLAMP3/TSC403/DC-LAMPPromotes Metastasis in Uterine Cervical Cancer
Authors: Kanao Hiroyuki , Enomoto Takayuki , Kimura Toshihiro , Fujita Masami , Nakashima Ryuichi , Ueda Yutaka , Ueno Yuko , Miyatake Takashi , Yoshizaki Tatsuo , Buzard Gregory S. , Tanigami Akira , Yoshino Kiyoshi , Murata Yuji
Published: October 2005

LAMP3 (DC-LAMP, TSC403, CD208) was originally isolated as a gene specifically expressed in lung tissues. LAMP3 is located on a chromosome 3q segment that is frequently amplified in some human cancers, including uterine cervical cancer. Because two other members of the LAMP family of lysosomal membrane glycoproteins, LAMP1 and LAMP2, were previously implicated in potentially modulating the interaction of vascular endothelial and cancer cells, we hypothesized that LAMP3 might also play an important part in metastasis. To clarify the metastatic potential of LAMP3 in cervical cancers, we transfected a LAMP3 expression vector into a human uterine cervical cancer cell line, TCS. In an in vitro invasion assay, the migration of LAMP3-overexpressing TCS cells was significantly higher than in control TCS cells. In an in vivo metastasis assay, distant metastasis was detected in 9 of 11 LAMP3-overexpressing TCS cell–injected mice and in only 1 of 11 control mice. Histologic study showed that LAMP3-overexpressing cells readily invaded into the lymph-vascular space. In clinical samples, quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) analyses showed that LAMP3 mRNA was significantly up-regulated in 47 of 47 (100%) cervical cancers and in 2 of 15 (13%) cervical intraepithelial neoplasias, compared with a low level of LAMP3 mRNA expressed in normal uterine cervixes. Interestingly, high LAMP3 expression was significantly correlated with the overall survival of patients with stage I/II cervical cancers. These findings indicate that LAMP3 overexpression is associated with an enhanced metastatic potential and may be a prognostic factor for cervical cancer.
The Cell Cycle Checkpoint Gene Rad9 Is a Novel Oncogene Activated by 11q13 Amplification and DNA Methylation in Breast Cancer
Authors: Cheng Chi Keung , Chow Louis W.C. , Loo Wings T.Y. , Chan Tai Kwong , Chan Vivian
Published: October 2005

Human Rad9 (hRad9), a structural homologue of yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe rad9, is involved in cell cycle checkpoints and apoptosis. hRad9 can serve as a corepressor of androgen receptor in prostate cancer cells, but little is known about its role in the development of breast or other cancers. In the present study, semiquantitative reverse transcription-PCR showed that Rad9 mRNA levels were up-regulated in 52.1% (25 of 48) of breast tumors, and this up-regulation correlated with tumor size (P = 0.037) and local recurrence (P = 0.033). Overexpression of Rad9 mRNA was partly due to an increase in Rad9 gene number as measured by quantitative PCR. In other breast tumors with Rad9 mRNA overexpression but without increase in gene number, there was differential methylation of two putative Sp1/3 binding sites within the first and second introns of the Rad9 gene, which was similarly found in MCF-7 breast cancer cell line with increased Rad9 mRNA. Silencing Rad9 expression by RNA interference in MCF-7 cell line inhibited its proliferation in vitro. Promoter assays indicated that the Sp1/3 site in intron 2 may act as a silencer. In vivo binding of Sp3 to intron 2 was shown by chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. Treatment of MCF-7 cell line with 5′-aza-2′-deoxycytidine reduced Rad9 mRNA expression and also increased binding of Sp3 to the demethylated intron 2 region. Collectively, these findings suggest that Rad9 is a novel oncogene candidate activated by 11q13 amplification and DNA hypermethylation in breast cancer and may play a role in tumor proliferation and local invasion.