bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Affective pain modulation in fibromyalgia, somatoform pain disorder, back pain, and healthy controls
Authors: Arnold Bettina S. , Alpers Georg W. , Süß Holger , Friedel Eckart , Kosmützky Gregor , Geier Antje , Pauli Paul
Published: August 2007

Previous research suggested that patients with fibromyalgia (FM) experience a higher pain intensity (clinical pain) than do patients with musculoskeletal pain after negative emotional priming compared to positive priming. To further examine affective pain modulation in FM, we applied an experimental pain induction to compare 30 patients with FM with 30 healthy (pain‐free) participants (HC), and 30 patients with back pain (BP). For another group of 30 patients with somatoform pain disorder (SF), we predicted the same pain modulation as for FM. As primes we presented positive, neutral, negative, and pain‐related pictures and assessed pain intensity in response to a fixed pressure weight. Overall, picture valence modulated pain intensities (in the order of pain‐related>negative pictures>neutral), but the pain intensities between neutral and positive pictures did not differ significantly. SF reported significantly higher pain intensities than did BP and HC; FM were in between, but did not differ significantly from the three other groups. There was no interaction of priming and group. Affective modulation of pain was not specifically altered in FM and SF, but SF were more sensitive to pressure pain than BP and HC.
Upstream stimulating factor‐1 mediates the E‐box‐dependent transcriptional repression of the plasminogen activator inhibitor‐1 gene in human mast cells
Authors: Ma Zhongcai , Jhun BongSook , Oh Chad K.
Published: August 2007

Plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)‐1 promotes development of asthma. PAI‐1 mRNA and protein are markedly induced in activated mast cells (MCs), a major effector cell type in asthma. However, regulatory mechanisms of PAI‐1 transcription in MCs are unknown. We present first evidence that PAI‐1 is transcriptionally regulated in human MCs (hMCs). In addition to three enhancer regions, we demonstrated that the E‐box at −566 bp to −561 bp is the negative regulatory element, and the specific and constitutive binding of the upstream stimulating factor‐1 to this E‐box is the key mechanism of the negative regulation of PAI‐1 expression in hMCs.
Guarded long-term prognosis in male cats with urethral obstruction
Authors: Gerber Bernhard , Eichenberger Simone , Reusch Claudia E.
Published: August 2007

The aim of this study was to evaluate the course of urethral obstruction in cats. Forty-five male cats with urethral obstruction or lower urinary tract signs referable to urethral obstruction were included in the study. Follow-up information was gained by telephone interview in most cases and was available in 39 cats. Of the 22 cats with idiopathic urethral obstruction, eight (36%) re-obstructed after 3–728 days (median 17 days). Of 10 cats with urolithiasis, three (30%) re-obstructed after 10, 13 and 472 days, respectively. Of the seven cats with urethral plugs, three (43%) re-obstructed after 4, 34 and 211 days, respectively. Recurrent signs of lower urinary tract disease including obstruction were common in cats with urethral obstruction (20/39; 51%) and occurred in the same frequency irrespective of the primary cause of the obstruction. Recurrent obstruction (14/39; 36%) was the most common reason for euthanasia and was performed in 8/39 (21%) cats.
Comparison of the ability of feline calicivirus (FCV) vaccines to neutralise a panel of current UK FCV isolates
Authors: Porter Carol J. , Radford Alan D. , Gaskell Rosalind M. , Ryvar Ruth , Coyne Karen P. , Pinchbeck Gina L. , Dawson Susan
Published: August 2007

Feline calicivirus (FCV) comprises a large number of strains which are related antigenically to varying degrees. The antigenic variability creates problems for choosing antigens to include in vaccines. Historically, these have been selected for use based on their cross-reactivity with a high proportion of field strains. However, it is important to determine the current level of cross-reactivity of vaccines and whether or not this may be decreasing owing to widespread vaccine use. In this in vitro study, we have compared the ability of antisera to two vaccine viruses (FCV strain F9 and FCV strain 255) to neutralise a panel of 40 recent UK field isolates. These 40 isolates were obtained by randomised, cross-sectional sampling of veterinary practices in different geographical regions of the UK so as to ensure they were representative of viruses circulating in the veterinary-visiting population of cats in the UK. Virus neutralisation assays showed that both vaccine strains are still broadly cross-reactive, with F9 antiserum neutralising 87.5% and 255 antiserum 75% of isolates tested with antiserum dilutions of 1 in 2 or greater. However, when antibody units were used, in order to take account of differences in homologous titres between antisera, fewer isolates were neutralised, with F9 antiserum showing a slightly higher proportion of isolates neutralised than 255. Multivariable analysis of the sample population of 1206 cats from which the 40 isolates were derived found that vaccinated cats were at a decreased risk of being positive for FCV, whereas cats from households with more than one cat, and cats with mouth ulcers were at increased risk. In addition as cats became older their risk of shedding FCV decreased.
Trust in Testimony: The Institutional Embeddedness of Holocaust Survivor Narratives
Authors: Beim Aaron , Fine Gary Alan
Published: August 2007

What makes testimony trustworthy? Based on fieldwork at a Holocaust museum, we argue that testimonies are trustworthy that because they make implicit and explicit truth claims. We argue that confidence is formed by interdependent institutions that vouch for these claims, as well as institutions that produce other cultural objects with comparable meaning, such as museums and films. These claims of truth exist in the testimony act in itself, as well as in explicit claims of truth made by the testifiers. Holocaust testimonies make explicit truth claims through assertions of institutionally legitimated information, personal experiences, and societal remembrance. After considering the creation of trust in testimony, we discuss how it can be generalized to the courtroom.
The Exhaustion of the Primary Zionist Program: S. N. Eisenstadt between Dynamic Conservativism and Critical Perspectives
Authors: Kimmerling Baruch
Published: August 2007

This essay analyzes the writings of the prominent sociologist S. N. Eisenstadt on Israeli society, since the late 1940s until today, in comparison with his explorations into General Sociological themes. SNE was the founder of contemporary Sociology of Israel, and for decades stood as a dominant figure in Israeli Sociology. The essay explores how he started with a rigid functionalist approach and passed to search for more flexible paradigms, and how from an entirely uncritical acceptance of the hegemonic-ideological description and analysis of the Israeli society and Zionism, he had moved toward a limited critique of them, absorbing partially the approaches of Critical Sociology.
Concgramming: A computer driven approach to learning the phraseology of English
Authors: Greaves Chris , Warren Martin
Published: August 2007

This study introduces a new computer-based methodology, ‘concgramming’, that has as its primary aim the automatic identification of the phraseological profile and hence the ‘aboutness’, of a text or corpus. It is argued that this methodology can be employed by language learners and teachers to raise awareness of the importance of the phraseological tendency in language. The methodology is outlined, and examples of its potential for use by language learners in a data-driven learning mode are described. The wider implications of concgramming, and the concgrams so generated, are also discussed with regard to CALL.
Learning English grammar with a corpus: Experimenting with concordancing in a university grammar course
Authors: Vannestål Maria Estling , Lindquist Hans
Published: August 2007

Corpora have been used for pedagogical purposes for more than two decades but empirical studies are relatively rare, particularly in the context of grammar teaching. The present study focuses on students' attitudes towards grammar and how these attitudes are affected by the introduction of concordancing. The principal aims of the project were to increase the students' motivation by showing them that English grammar is more than a set of rules in a book and to enable them to assume more responsibility for their own learning. The idea was to introduce the use of language corpora into the curriculum for first-semester English at Växjö University in Sweden, as a complement to grammar textbooks and ordinary exercise materials. Between classes, the students worked with problem-solving assignments that involved formulating their own grammar rules based on the examples they found in the corpus. In the classroom, a system of peer teaching was applied, where the students took turns at explaining grammatical rules to each other. Besides presenting a new way of working with grammar, we also provided the students with a tool for checking questions of usage when writing English texts in the future, since the corpus we use is free of charge and available to all. The work with corpora and peer teaching was evaluated by means of questionnaires and interviews. This article describes and evaluates this initiative and presents insights gained in the process. One important conclusion is that using corpora with students requires a large amount of introduction and support. It takes time and practice to get students to become independent corpus users, knowing how to formulate relevant corpus queries and interpret the results. Working with corpora is a method that some students appreciate while others, especially weak students, find it difficult or boring. Several of the students did not find corpora very useful for learning about grammatical rules, but realized the potential of using corpora when writing texts in English.
Enriching language learning through a multimedia corpus
Authors: Ackerley Katherine , Coccetta Francesca
Published: August 2007

Until recently, use has been made almost exclusively of text-based concordancers in the analysis of spoken corpora. This article discusses research being carried out on Padua University's Multimedia English Corpus (Padova MEC) using the multimodal concordancer MCA (Multimodal Corpus Authoring System, Baldry, 2005). This highly innovative concordancer enables the retrieval of parts of video and audio from a tagged corpus and access to examples of language in context, thereby providing non-verbal information about the environment, the participants and their moods, details that can be gleaned from a combination of word, sound, image and movement. This is of use to language learners of all levels because if “communication is to be successful, a relevant context has to be constructed by the discourse participants” (Braun, 2005: 52). In other words, transcripts alone are not sufficient if learners are to have anything like participant knowledge and comprehend spoken language. In the article it will be demonstrated how language functions expressed in the multimedia corpus of spoken English are retrieved using MCA. Online learning materials based on the multimodal concordances take into consideration not only language, but also the way in which it co-patterns with other semiotic resources, thereby raising the issue of the importance of learner awareness of the multimodal nature of communication.
Incremental copying garbage collection for WAM-based Prolog systems
Authors: VANDEGINSTE RUBEN , DEMOEN BART
Published: August 2007

The design and implementation of an incremental copying heap garbage collector for WAM-based Prolog systems is presented. Its heap layout consists of a number of equal-sized blocks. Other changes to the standard WAM allow these blocks to be garbage collected independently. The independent collection of heap blocks forms the basis of an incremental collecting algorithm which employs copying without marking (contrary to the more frequently used mark© or mark&slide algorithms in the context of Prolog). Compared to standard semi-space copying collectors, this approach to heap garbage collection lowers in many cases the memory usage and reduces pause times. The algorithm also allows for a wide variety of garbage collection policies including generational ones. The algorithm is implemented and evaluated in the context of hProlog.
Constraint functional logic programming over finite domains
Authors: FERNÁNDEZ ANTONIO J. , HORTALÁ-GONZÁLEZ TERESA , SÁENZ-PÉREZ FERNANDO , DEL VADO-VÍRSEDA RAFAEL
Published: August 2007

In this paper, we present our proposal to Constraint Functional Logic Programming over Finite Domains (CFLP($\fd$)) with a lazy functional logic programming language which seamlessly embodies finite domain ($\fd$) constraints. This proposal increases the expressiveness and power of constraint logic programming over finite domains (CLP($\fd$)) by combining functional and relational notation, curried expressions, higher-order functions, patterns, partial applications, non-determinism, lazy evaluation, logical variables, types, domain variables, constraint composition, and finite domain constraints. We describe the syntax of the language, its type discipline, and its declarative and operational semantics. We also describe\toy(fd)$, an implementation forCFLP($\fd$), and a comparison of our approach with respect toCLP($\fd$) from a programming point of view, showing the new features we introduce. And, finally, we show a performance analysis which demonstrates that our implementation is competitive with respect to existingCLP($\fd$) systems and that clearly outperforms the closer approach toCFLP($\fd$).
Decomposable theories
Authors: DJELLOUL KHALIL
Published: August 2007

We present in this paper a general algorithm for solving first-order formulas in particular theories called decomposable theories. First of all, using special quantifiers, we give a formal characterization of decomposable theories and show some of their properties. Then, we present a general algorithm for solving first-order formulas in any decomposable theory T. The algorithm is given in the form of five rewriting rules. It transforms a first-order formula ϕ, which can possibly contain free variables, into a conjunction φ of solved formulas easily transformable into a Boolean combination of existentially quantified conjunctions of atomic formulas. In particular, if ϕ has no free variables then φ is either the formula true or ¬true. The correctness of our algorithm proves the completeness of the decomposable theories. Finally, we show that the theory ${\cal T}$ of finite or infinite trees is a decomposable theory and give some benchmarks realized by an implementation of our algorithm, solving formulas on two-partner games in ${\cal T}$ with more than 160 nested alternated quantifiers.
Taking the iron fist a little further
Authors: GREENER IAN
Published: August 2007

In ‘Visible hand or invisible fist’ Professor Paton asks two specific questions; first, whether the new internal market is different to the one we experienced in the 1990s; and, second, given that the new market is not steered by anything approximating the invisible hand, is it an economic market at all, or some kind of political market instead?
Visible hand or invisible fist?: the new market and choice in the English NHS
Authors: PATON CALUM
Published: August 2007

As England (unlike the rest of the UK) retreads the market route in health policy, it is worth asking two questions. Firstly, is the government right that the ‘new market’ (as it refuses to call it, except in private seminars) is fundamentally different from the 1990s’ internal market which New Labour allegedly abolished in 1997? Secondly, given that the new market is clearly not characterized by the invisible hand, should we characterize it as steered ‘economically’ by a visible (facilitating) hand, on the one hand, or managed ‘politically’ by a fist which would like to remain invisible in order to maintain its power? This article goes on to examine choice in the new NHS with reference to Hirschman (1970), arguing that genuflections to the latter by pro-choice advocates such as Le Grand (2003) are just that – genuflections. Hirschman is used as a taxi by which to reach a desired destination rather than a stimulus to critical reflection, Hirschman-style, upon how ‘exit’, ‘voice’, and particular combinations of ‘exit’ and ‘voice’ may produce perverse outcomes.
Politics over economics, fist over hand
Authors: PATON CALUM
Published: August 2007

I am grateful for two respondents as perceptive as Ian Greener and Nick Timmins. Greener’s response allows me in turn to extend my argument. Timmins’ response challenges my case, allowing me to defend it – while his sharp political ‘nose’ sniffs out trends in policy with which I agree.
Peering through a glass: darkly
Authors: TIMMINS NICHOLAS
Published: August 2007

Calum Paton’s article reads like a howl of pain when faced with the history of the past 20 years of ‘market-like’ reform to the NHS and the prospect of what is to come. Typically, he makes some powerful points. Not least, he highlights some of the unresolved tensions in current health policy. It does indeed remain pretty much of a mystery quite how patient choice, practice-based commissioning, and commissioning by primary care trusts will knit together, let alone how all NHS Trusts, foundation or not, are meant to make a profit (surplus) within a cash-limited system. But, while his article contains a litany of the problems, both actual and potential, that the ‘new NHS’ may bring, it is missing a counter factual. It contains an unspoken assumption that these changes are being made, almost willfully, to a system that was functioning, if not perfectly, then pretty well.
Family history of chronic disease and participation in healthy behaviours
Authors: GIBBISON GODFREY A. , JOHNSON C. DOUGLAS
Published: August 2007

This article presents an investigation into whether individuals incorporate information on their family genetic (health) endowment into decision making regarding participation in behaviours related to the production of health capital. Competing theoretical perspectives exist as to how genetic endowment should affect participation in health-related behaviours. There is also a growing consensus that the availability of genetic information holds important consequences for the individual in terms of investment in human capital, the pricing and availability of health insurance, and labour market opportunity. Therefore, the question of how individuals use the greater availability of genetic data is important. Our empirical results indicate that poor genetic endowment tends to be associated with a lower probability of participation in cigarette smoking, but also a lower probability of participation in regular exercise.
America's health care dilemma: not a pretty sight
Authors: WILSFORD DAVID
Published: August 2007

As the American right wing’s control of national (and local) politics implodes in the United States, there is the inevitable hope wafting in the air as policy specialists and other political activists on the other side of the divide anticipate capturing the US presidency at the end of 2008 to go with the center-left’s majorities won in the US Congress at the end of 2006. And so, health care reform is once again on the march! Alas, if Max Weber was wise to have observed that ideas run upon the tracks of interests, implying clearly that some good ideas die their death because they do not find the right track of interests, while some tracks of interests go nowhere for lack of the right idea, the health policy debate still provides a Technicolor demonstration that the mish and mash of this and that is not yet pointing the country in any particular direction, regardless of election outcomes in 2006 and 2008. Worse yet, in spite of the great sociologist Reinhard Bendix’s demonstration in his masterworkKings orPeople(1978) that non-incremental transformations often occur at critical junctures of a nation’s history due to the diffusion effects of ideas from abroad, there is no evidence in the current (or past) American debate that the country has ever learned anything at all or thinks it has anything at all to learn from the way these problems are grappled with, and more successfully, elsewhere. (Oh, let’s just take Japan, France, Germany, Spain, Canada, the UK, and a handful of other countries as quick examples.)
Funding pharmaceutical innovation through direct tax credits
Authors: LYBECKER KRISTINA M. , FREEMAN ROBERT A.
Published: August 2007

Rising pharmaceutical prices, increasing demand for more effective innovative drugs and growing public outrage have heightened criticism of the pharmaceutical industry. The public debate has focused on drug prices and access. As a consequence, the patent system is being reexamined as an efficient mechanism for encouraging pharmaceutical innovation and drug development. We propose an alternative to the existing patent system, instead rewarding the innovating firm with direct tax credits in exchange for marginal cost pricing. This concept is based on the fundamental assumption that innovation that benefits society at large may be financed publicly. As an industry which produces a social good characterized by high fixed costs, high information and regulatory costs, and relatively low marginal costs of production, pharmaceuticals are well-suited to such a mechanism. Under this proposal, drug prices fall, consumer surplus increases, access is enhanced, and the incentives to innovate are preserved.
The ICRC delegate: an exceptional humanitarian player?
Authors: Troyon Brigitte , Palmieri Daniel
Published: August 2007

“What is an ICRC delegate?” Here, in a sentence, is the focus of this article. Going through the in-house perception, which highlights the extraordinary and singular nature of this humanitarian player, and through the view of the public, which oscillates between the missionary of humanity and the mere holder of a temporary job, the authors attempt to give the reader the key to unveil and discover this peculiar profession.
Dunant's pyramid: thoughts on the “humanitarian space”
Authors: Thürer Daniel
Published: August 2007

This article uses the metaphor of a pyramid bounding the humanitarian space as a means of portraying what it is that constitutes humanitarian law and humanitarian action. Whereas humanity as the tip of the pyramid forms the aim and international humanitarian law the base, the sides are the principles of impartiality, neutrality and independence, which enclose the humanitarian space and make the humanitarian endeavour possible.
Support in Suicidal Crises: The Swedish National Program to Develop Suicide Prevention 1An English-language version of the full program may be ordered from the National Board of Health and Welfare, Customer Dept., S-106 30 Stockholm, Sweden, fax +46 8 663-9290, e-mail (Internet) kundtj@sos.se, tel. +46-8-783 30 03. Article No. 1996-00-84 or from The National Institute of Public Health�s distribution service, S-120 88 Stockholm, Sweden, fax +46 8 449-8811.
Authors: The Swedish National Council for Suicide Prevention
Published: August 2007

The Swedish National Program to Develop Suicide Prevention was created through collaboration between the National Board of Health and Welfare, the National Institute of Public Health, and the Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention. These institutions aim to provide joint support for the development of suicide prevention in Sweden by, for example, encouraging educational and development project. The program was signed for the National Council for Suicide Prevention by Agneta Dreber, Director-General, National Institute of Public Health; Danuta Wasserman, Professor of Psychiatry and Suicidology, Head, National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention; and Claes Örtendahl, Director-General, National Board of Health and Welfare. This article, edited by Jan Beskow, Professor of Psychiatry at the Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, is an abridged version submitted to Crisis at the request of the Editors.
Effects of acidification and primary production on coccolith weight: Implications for carbonate transfer from the surface to the deep ocean
Authors: Beaufort Luc , Probert Ian , Buchet Noelle
Published: August 2007

The coccolithophores are not only an important group of oceanic primary producers; they are also one of the main carbonate producers in the ocean. Because the calcium carbonate plates (coccoliths) secreted by these unicellular algae are so small and light (a few picograms each), they cannot be directly weighed, with the result that very little is known about the effect of primary production and dissolution on the coccoliths. Using a new method that allows a rapid estimate of the weight of discrete coccoliths, we analyzed the effect of dissolution. The results of two acidification experiments, using cultured and fossil coccoliths, indicate that acidification does not change significantly the weight and size of coccoliths. On the basis of these experiments, we identify four parameters for identifying the effects of dissolution on a coccolith assemblage. These parameters were applied in samples from two sediment trap time series taken at the same tropical Atlantic site (EUMELI), but separated by 2000 m water depth. There was no evidence of increased dissolution with water depth between 250 and 2500 m. This is indicative of the absence of dissolution of coccoliths between the photic zone and the lysocline. Other studies have identified supra‐lysoclinal dissolution, and we propose that most of this takes place in the photic zone and possibly in the guts of grazers. Most of the coccolith weight changes observed over the duration of trap deployment were related to the occurrence of two coccolithophore blooms which resulted in significant increases in average coccolith weight of the dominant coccolithophore species during the blooms. Changes in growth rate and cell density appear to have a significant effect on the weight of coccoliths. To test this observation, we cultured E. huxleyi at different P and N concentrations. This test confirmed that coccoliths weigh more when coccolithophore production is highest. An important consequence for the carbon pump is that during higher primary production events the coccoliths will increase the ballasting of the aggregates in which they are carried to the seafloor, increasing the rate and amount of organic matter sequestered into the deep sea.
Anomalous diffusion of electromagnetic eddy currents in geological formations
Authors: Weiss Chester J. , Everett Mark E.
Published: August 2007

Controlled‐source electromagnetic (EM) induction in some geological formations is shown here to be compactly described by an anomalous subdiffusion process. Such a process, which is not universal, is governed by a fractional diffusion equation or alternatively the convolutional form of Ohm's law. A subdiffusing eddy current vortex, or electromagnetic smoke ring, propagates in such a way that its position of median intensity overruns its position of peak intensity. This behavior is not allowed in classical diffusion but is a simple consequence of diffusion within a stationary fractal medium. A similar analysis has been applied to understand heavy‐tailed traveltime distributions that appear in certain hydrological time series. The tell‐tale signature of anomalous electromagnetic diffusion is a slope β of the magnetic zero‐crossing moveout curve that is constant with transmitter‐receiver (RX) offset and significantly different from unity. Neither lateral heterogeneity nor unixial anisotropy can generate such a constant‐slope moveout curve with an economy of model parameters. Controlled‐source EM data from two sites in Texas and one in New Mexico are used in this study to test the eddy current subdiffusion hypothesis.
P‐to‐S and S‐to‐P imaging of a sharp lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary beneath eastern North America
Authors: Rychert Catherine A. , Rondenay Stéphane , Fischer Karen M.
Published: August 2007

S‐to‐P (Sp) scattered energy independently confirms the existence of a seismic velocity discontinuity at the lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary that was previously imaged using P‐to‐S (Ps) scattered energy in eastern North America. Exploration of the different sensitivities of Ps and Sp scattered energy suggests that the phases contain independent yet complementary high‐resolution information regarding velocity contrasts. Combined inversions of Ps and Sp energy have the potential to tightly constrain associated velocity gradients. In eastern North America, inversions of Sp and Ps data require a strong, 5–10% velocity contrast that is also sharp, occurring over less than 11 km at 87–105 km depth. Thermal gradients alone are insufficient to create such a sharp boundary, and therefore another mechanism is required. A boundary in composition, hydration, or a change in anisotropic signature could easily produce a sufficiently localized velocity gradient. Taken separately, the magnitudes of the effects of these mechanisms are too small to match our observed velocity gradients. However, our observations may be explained by a boundary in hydration coupled with a boundary in depletion and/or anisotropy. Alternatively, a small amount of melt in the asthenosphere could explain the velocity gradient. The tight constraints on velocity gradients achieved by combined modeling of Ps and Sp energy offer promise for defining the character of the lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary globally.
Tsunami early warning using GPS‐Shield arrays
Authors: Sobolev Stephan V. , Babeyko Andrey Y. , Wang Rongjiang , Hoechner Andreas , Galas Roman , Rothacher Markus , Sein Dmitry V. , Schröter Jens , Lauterjung Joern , Subarya Cecep
Published: August 2007

The 2004 catastrophic Indian Ocean tsunami has strongly emphasized the need for reliable tsunami early warning systems. Another giant tsunamigenic earthquake may occur west of Sumatra, close to the large city of Padang. We demonstrate that the presence of islands between the trench and the Sumatran coast makes earthquake‐induced tsunamis especially sensitive to slip distribution on the rupture plane as wave heights at Padang may differ by more than a factor of 5 for earthquakes having the same seismic moment (magnitude) and rupture zone geometry but different slip distribution. Hence reliable prediction of tsunami wave heights for Padang cannot be provided using traditional, earthquake‐magnitude‐based methods. We show, however, that such a prediction can be issued within 10 minutes of an earthquake by incorporating special types of near‐field GPS arrays (“GPS‐Shield”). These arrays measure both vertical and horizontal displacements and can resolve higher order features of the slip distribution on the fault than the seismic moment if placed above the rupture zone or are less than 100 km away of the rupture zone. Stations in the arrays are located as close as possible to the trench and are aligned perpendicular to the trench, i.e., parallel to the expected gradient of surface coseismic displacement. In the case of Sumatra and Java, the GPS‐Shield arrays should be placed at Mentawai Islands, located between the trench and Sumatra and directly at the Sumatra and Java western coasts. We demonstrate that the “GPS‐Shield” can also be applied to northern Chile, where giant earthquakes may also occur in the near future. Moreover, this concept may be applied globally to many other tsunamigenic active margins where the land is located above or close to seismogenic zones.
Observing system simulation experiments in geomagnetic data assimilation
Authors: Liu Don , Tangborn Andrew , Kuang Weijia
Published: August 2007

Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) have been carried out for a geomagnetic data assimilation system. The purpose of these experiments is to demonstrate how new algorithms for assimilating geomagnetic observations into a geodynamo model can be evaluated. A “nature” run is carried out to establish a “true” evolution of the Earth's core state, from which synthetic surface geomagnetic field observations are created. These observations are then assimilated into the geodynamo model using an optimal interpolation (OI) scheme. Model error is simulated by using a different Rayleigh number in the nature and model runs. Because the true core state evolution is known completely, the assimilation results can be evaluated in terms of any state variable and at any point in the computational domain. In this work we focus on the poloidal (observed) and toroidal (unobserved) components of the magnetic field throughout the outer core. Experiments are carried out using observations of different degrees and varying forecast error correlation length scales. We also investigate the impact of model error on the assimilation and on the accuracy of geomagnetic forecasts. Assimilation runs lasting about 90% of the magnetic free decay time show a positive impact on both components of magnetic field deep within the outer core. Forecasts of the surface magnetic field show much lower error growth, indicating that the initial condition used for the forecasts has been substantially improved through assimilation.
A numerical study of melt ponds
Authors: Skyllingstad Eric D. , Paulson Clayton A.
Published: August 2007

High‐resolution turbulence simulations are used to examine the importance of melt pond geometry in setting pond growth rates and albedo. Modeling the circulation of water in melt ponds using large‐eddy simulation shows that both convective and wind‐forced conditions generate well‐mixed ponds, suggesting that stratification is not a significant factor in pond circulation. Simulations with a variety of pond shapes and sizes indicate that the basic ratio of sidewall area to bottom area, R, can be used to characterize melting rates for ponds with simple shapes. Ponds with large values of R will generally melt more rapidly in the horizontal direction at the expense of bottom melting. Consequently, small and elongated ponds will have a relatively larger lateral growth rate in comparison with large, symmetric ponds, assuming minimal lateral flux of meltwater. Simulations also show that pond shape can affect the sidewall and bottom turbulence transfer rates. Ponds with large R tend to have reduced transfer rates because of weaker circulations. A bulk pond model is developed on the basis of a rectangular geometry and an assumption of uniform mixing as suggested by the turbulence model and pond scaling using R. Comparison of the bulk model with results from the large‐eddy simulation cases shows good agreement.
Aerosol optical properties and their radiative effects in northern China
Authors: Li Zhanqing , Xia Xiangao , Cribb Maureen , Mi Wen , Holben Brent , Wang Pucai , Chen Hongbin , Tsay Si‐Chee , Eck T. F. , Zhao Fengsheng , Dutton E. G. , Dickerson R. E.
Published: August 2007

As a fast developing country covering a large territory, China is experiencing rapid environmental changes. High concentrations of aerosols with diverse properties are emitted in the region, providing a unique opportunity for understanding the impact of environmental changes on climate. Until very recently, few observational studies were conducted in the source regions. The East Asian Study of Tropospheric Aerosols: An International Regional Experiment (EAST‐AIRE) attempts to characterize the physical, optical and chemical properties of the aerosols and their effects on climate over China. This study presents some preliminary results using continuous high‐quality measurements of aerosol, cloud and radiative quantities made at the first EAST‐AIRE baseline station at Xianghe, about 70 km east of Beijing over a period of one year (September 2004 to September 2005). It was found that the region is often covered by a thick layer of haze (with a yearly mean aerosol optical depth equal to 0.82 at 500 nm and maximum greater than 4) due primarily to anthropogenic emissions. An abrupt “cleanup” of the haze often took place in a matter of one day or less because of the passage of cold fronts. The mean single scattering albedo is approximately 0.9 but has strong day‐to‐day variations with maximum monthly averages occurring during the summer. Large aerosol loading and strong absorption lead to a very large aerosol radiative effect at the surface (the annual 24‐hour mean values equals 24 W m−2), but a much smaller aerosol radiative effect at the top of the atmosphere (one tenth of the surface value). The boundary atmosphere is thus heated dramatically during the daytime, which may affect atmospheric stability and cloud formation. In comparison, the cloud radiative effect at the surface is only moderately higher (−41 W m−2) than the aerosol radiative effect at the surface.
Coupled simulations of fluvial erosion and mass wasting for cohesive river banks
Authors: Darby Stephen E. , Rinaldi Massimo , Dapporto Stefano
Published: August 2007

The erosion of sediment from riverbanks affects a range of physical and ecological issues. Bank retreat often involves combinations of fluvial erosion and mass wasting, and in recent years, bank retreat models have been developed that combine hydraulic erosion and limit equilibrium stability models. In related work, finite element seepage analyses have also been used to account for the influence of pore water pressure in controlling the onset of mass wasting. This paper builds on these previous studies by developing a simulation modeling approach in which the hydraulic erosion, finite element seepage, and limit equilibrium stability models are, for the first time, fully coupled. Application of the model is demonstrated by undertaking simulations of a single flow event at a single study site for scenarios where (1) there is no fluvial erosion and the bank geometry profile remains constant throughout, (2) there is no fluvial erosion but the bank profile is deformed by simulated mass wasting, and (3) the bank profile is allowed to freely deform in response to both simulated fluvial erosion and mass wasting. The results are limited in scope to the specific conditions encountered at the study site, but they nevertheless demonstrate the significant role that fluvial erosion plays in steepening the bank profile or creating overhangs, thereby triggering mass wasting. However, feedbacks between the various processes also lead to unexpected outcomes. Specifically, fluvial erosion also affects bank stability indirectly, as deformation of the bank profile alters the hydraulic gradients driving infiltration into the bank, thereby modulating the evolution of the pore water pressure field. Consequently, the frequency, magnitude, and mode of bank erosion events in the fully coupled scenario differ from the two scenarios in which not all the relevant bank process interactions are included.
A new cylindrical phase screen method for modeling electromagnetic wave propagation through an inhomogeneous 2‐D atmosphere
Authors: Cao Yi , Dvorak Steven L. , Ye Xinyu , Herman Ben
Published: August 2007

In this paper, we investigate the forward modeling of electromagnetic wave propagation through an inhomogeneous, two‐dimensional (2‐D) atmosphere where the transmitter is located at a finite distance from the Earth. A new cylindrical multiple phase‐screen method is developed and both the cylindrical and the traditional planar multiple phase‐screen models are applied to an inhomogeneous atmosphere with a simple refractivity profile. It was found that the two methods yield results that agree very well on the same output cylindrical phase‐screen after the wave was propagated through the atmosphere. Since the cylindrical approach better matches the physical phenomenology of the waves, the phase fronts were found to deviate less over the cylindrical phase‐screens than over the planar screens. Therefore, the cylindrical multiple phase‐screen model requires a smaller number of points to perform the Fast Fourier Transforms (FFT) and Inverse FFT than the planar phase screen model, and thus has a higher efficiency. The cylindrical phase‐screen model can also serve as a new direct and independent check for the traditional planar phase‐screen model.
Permian‐Triassic high thermal regime in the Alps: Result of late Variscan collapse or continental rifting? Validation by numerical modeling
Authors: Marotta Anna Maria , Spalla Maria Iole
Published: August 2007

The Permian‐Triassic igneous activity, associated with regional scale deformation developed under high‐temperature/low‐pressure (HT‐LP) metamorphic conditions and widely recorded in the pre‐Alpine crust of the European Alps, can result from late orogenic collapse of a collisional belt or from lithospheric thinning leading to a continental rifting process. In order to reduce this ambiguity, we use a two‐dimensional finite element model to give new insights on the sequence of mechanisms operating during active ocean‐continent convergence, followed by continental collision and pure gravitational evolution and on the regional geodynamic interpretation of the Paleozoic‐Mesozoic evolution of the Alpine area. The modeling predictions are compared with the PT climax conditions of Variscan and Permian‐Triassic metamorphism affecting the continental crust of the Helvetic to Southalpine domains. The good agreement between model predictions and natural data realized for the early to Neovariscan evolution indicates that during Paleozoic, the pre‐Alpine crust of the Alps was part of an active ocean‐continent convergence margin and an intracontinental suture zone. Furthermore, modeling results support the interpretation envisaging a Permian‐Triassic lithospheric extension as responsible for the HT metamorphism and related intense igneous activity. This evolution was precursor of the Mesozoic oceanization, during which the tectonic units, coupled and accreted during the Variscan subduction and collision, were separated to form the two passive European and Adriatic continental margins.
Maintenance of zonal wind variability associated with the annular mode on Mars
Authors: Yamashita Yousuke , Kuroda Takeshi , Takahashi Masaaki
Published: August 2007

Results from a Mars general circulation model (MGCM) were used to investigate the maintenance of the annular mode in the Martian atmosphere. Analysis of the Martian northern winter, as represented by the MGCM, revealed a prominent transient wave with zonal wave number 1 that had a baroclinic instability structure. An empirical orthogonal function (EOF) decomposition showed that the first two modes of the EOF contained features of the transient wave with wave number 1. The third EOF mode had an annular structure about the Martian North Pole and an equivalent barotropic structure in the vertical. Each term in the transformed Eulerian mean equation was estimated from the MGCM output to investigate the maintenance of the annular mode. Wave forcing (Eliassen‐Palm flux divergence) played an important role in maintaining the mode. In the wave forcing term, contributions from transient baroclinic waves with wave numbers 1 and 2 were important.
CloudSat spaceborne 94 GHz radar bright bands in the melting layer: An attenuation‐driven upside‐down lidar analog
Authors: Sassen Kenneth , Matrosov Sergey , Campbell James
Published: August 2007

The CloudSat satellite supports a W‐band (94 GHz) cloud profiling radar. At this 3.2 mm wavelength, ground‐based measurements of rainfall associated with melting snowflakes do not show the radar reflectivity peak that is characteristic of bright band measurements at longer (Rayleigh scattering‐dominated) wavelengths. Nonetheless, examination of downward‐looking CloudSat returns in precipitation often indicate an obvious signal peak in the melting region. Through melting layer microphysical and scattering model simulations, we demonstrate that this downward‐viewing radar feature is analogous to the lidar bright band observed from the ground in that it owes its existence to strong attenuation. In the upward‐looking lidar case, the strong attenuation comes from large low‐density snowflakes. In the downward‐looking 94 GHz radar case, it is due to the effects of the greater refractive index of water particles compared to ice: it is comparable to an upside‐down lidar bright band. A W‐band radar dark band, which contributes to the visibility of the bright band, is shown to be due to attenuation in the snowfall. For comparison, the bright and dark bands for an upward viewing lidar are also modeled: the latter is simulated by a reduction in light backscattering efficiency of ice‐containing raindrops.
Temperature dependence and mechanism of hydrogen incorporation in olivine at 12.5–14.0 GPa
Authors: Litasov Konstantin D. , Ohtani Eiji , Kagi Hiroyuki , Jacobsen Steven D. , Ghosh Sujoy
Published: August 2007

The concentration and incorporation mechanisms of hydrogen into (Mg, Fe)2SiO4 olivine have been studied under water saturated conditions at 12.5–14.0 GPa and 1100–2000°C. The hydrogen content of olivine (Fo90–Fo95) coexisting with enstatite and hydrous melt increases from about 4600 ppmw at 1100°C to a maximum of 6250 ppmw at 1200°C. Above 1400°C, the hydrogen content of olivine decreases non‐linearly, reaching 160–240 ppmw in the 1800–2000°C range where there is a high melt fraction and no enstatite. Polarized infrared spectra of the recovered olivines exhibit OH absorption bands in both the 3450–3650 cm−1 range (group I) and 3160–3450 cm−1 range (group II). Results indicate that hydration of olivine is associated with both Mg and Si site vacancies. Microprobe analyses of the samples show a clear deficit of Si in olivine. The water storage capacity of olivine is probably no more than 1.5–2.0 times less than wadsleyite at 1400°C and transition zone pressures.
Effects of global boundary and local collisionality on magnetic reconnection in a laboratory plasma
Authors: Kuritsyn A. , Ji H. , Gerhardt S. P. , Ren Y. , Yamada M.
Published: August 2007

The magnetic reconnection process is studied in a wide range of operating conditions in the well‐controlled Magnetic Reconnection Experiment. The reconnection rate is observed to be a function of both global (system size) and local (collisionality) plasma parameters. When only local collisionality is lowered, the current sheet is shortened while effective resistivity is enhanced, both accelerating reconnection rates. At a fixed collisionality, the current sheet length increases with system size, resulting in the reduction of the reconnection rate. These results quantitatively agree with a generalized Sweet‐Parker analysis.
Picturing the genetic code
Authors: Edwards A.W.F.
Published: August 2007

The 64 codons of the genetic code are arranged on a six-set Edwards-Venn diagram in such a way that the amino-acids are advantageously displayed.