bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Health and exposures of United Kingdom Gulf war veterans. Part II: The relation of health to exposure
Authors: Cherry N , Creed F , Silman A , Dunn G , Baxter D , Smedley J , Taylor S , Macfarlane G J
Published: July 2002

OBJECTIVES

To investigate whether, in personnel who served with the United Kingdom forces in the Gulf war, self reported exposures were related to symptoms in a way that was consistent, specific, and credible.

METHODS

Responses to symptom and exposure questionnaires, completed 7 or more years after the war, were collected from 7971 subjects deployed in the Gulf, from two exposed cohorts, in a study with an overall response rate of 85.5%. Exposures were considered in three groups, those outside the control of the subjects, the use of prophylaxis, and indicators of susceptibility. Health indices derived from symptom questionnaires were related to reports of 14 exposures in these three groups in a series of multiple regression analyses to allow for confounding. The relation of exposure to complaints of widespread pain and to symptoms suggesting peripheral neuropathy were examined by logistic regression.

RESULTS

Consistent but weak correlations between exposures and with health effects were found in independent analyses of the two (main and validation) cohorts. Three exposures outside the control of the subject, the number of inoculations, the number of days handling pesticides, and the days exposed to smoke from oil fires, were consistently and independently related to severity. The number of inoculations was also associated with higher scores on a factor weighted on symptoms associated with skin and musculoskeletal complaints. The number of days handling pesticides related particularly to scores on a neurological factor and to symptoms consistent with toxic neuropathy.

CONCLUSION

The relations between exposures and ill health were generally weak. Consistent, specific, and credible relations, warranting further investigation, were found between health indices and two exposures, the reported number of inoculations and days handling pesticides.
Relation between trihalomethane compounds and birth defects
Authors: Dodds L , King W D
Published: July 2002

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the risk of birth defects relative to exposure to specific trihalomethanes in public water supplies.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was conducted based on data from a population based perinatal database in Nova Scotia, Canada and from the results of routine water monitoring tests. The cohort consisted of women who had a singleton birth in Nova Scotia between 1988 and 1995 and who lived in an area with a municipal water supply. The birth defects analyzed included neural tube defects, cardiovascular defects, cleft defects, and chromosomal abnormalities. Two of the four trihalomethane compounds occur in large enough concentrations to be analyzed (chloroform and bromodichloromethane (BDCM)).

RESULTS

Exposure to BDCM at concentrations of 20 μg/l or over was associated with an increased risk of neural tube defects (adjusted relative risk (RR) 2.5, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.2 to 5.1) whereas exposure to chloroform was not. Exposure to BDCM of 20 μg/l and over was associated with decreased risks of cardiovascular anomalies (RR 0.3, 95% CI 0.2 to 0.7). There was a suggestion of an increased risk of chromosomal abnormalities associated with exposure to chloroform, and no evidence of any association between either trihalomethane compound and cleft defects.

CONCLUSIONS

In this cohort, differences were found in the RR associated with exposure to chloroform and BDCM for each of the congenital anomalies under study. These findings point to the importance of examining specific byproduct compounds relative to risk for these birth outcomes and in particular implicate BDCM and other correlated disinfection byproducts in the aetiology of neural tube defects.
Sex ratio in offspring of those affected by dioxin and dioxin-like compounds: the Yusho, Seveso, and Yucheng incidents: Table 1
Authors: Yoshimura T , Kaneko S , Hayabuchi H
Published: July 2002

Sex ratios in the offspring of those affected by dioxins or dioxin-like compounds have been reported from Seveso, Italy and Yucheng, Taiwan. The sex ratio of live births in Yusho, Japan after a similar accidental massive exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in 1968 are reviewed. Data on all births among parents exposed to the compounds from 1968 to 1977 in Fukuoka and a region of Nagasaki, the two areas affected, are reported. In total there were 85 live births in those regions. The sex ratio was not significantly different from normal (0.513). To evaluate hormonal disrupting activity or effects on reproductive outcome by PCBs and PCDFs, a further investigation of sex in offspring of the Yusho victims, especially offspring of those who were younger than 19 years of age at the time of the Yusho incident, is needed.
Reported chemical sensitivities in a health survey of United Kingdon military personnel
Authors: Reid S , Hotopf M , Hull L , Ismail K , Unwin C , Wessely S
Published: July 2002

Objective: To report the prevalence of self reported chemical sensitivities in three cohorts of United Kingdom service personnel.

Method: Cross sectional postal survey of three cohorts of United Kingdom military personnel comprising Gulf veterans (n=3531), those who had served in Bosnia (n=2050), and those serving during the Gulf war but not deployed there (Era cohort, n=2614).

Results: Sensitivity to at least one everyday chemical was reported by a considerable proportion of all three cohorts, and particularly by veterans of the Gulf war (Era: 14%; Bosnia: 13%; Gulf: 28%).

Conclusion: Reported chemical sensitivities were common in all three military cohorts. Our understanding of chemical sensitivities remains limited and objective evidence for a causal link between low level exposures to chemicals and reported symptoms is lacking. Given their frequency in the population, further work in this area is necessary.
Clinical features and management of biliary ascariasis in a non-endemic area
Authors: Misra S P , Dwivedi Manisha
Published: July 2002

Biliary ascariasis is common in certain geographical areas of the world. In India, it is common in the Kashmir valley and only stray cases have been reported from other parts of the country. Between January 1995 and May 1997, 14 patients with biliary ascariasis were seen at our centre, which is more than 1000 km from the Kashmir valley. The mean (± SD) age of the patients was 31.7 (± 6.1) years and all were females. None of them had been to a place known to be endemic for biliary ascariasis. Four patients presented with acute cholangitis, eight with acute abdominal pain and vomiting, and the remaining two were diagnosed incidentally during surgery for gallstone disease. Barring these two patients, ultrasound examination of the abdomen diagnosed the condition accurately. In 10 patients, a part of the worm was visible outside the papilla of Vater. The roundworm was caught in a Dormia basket and could be extracted in nine patients. In one patient the worm migrated inside the bile duct while it was being caught in a Dormia basket. In this and two other patients, in whom the worm had migrated completely inside the bile duct, worms were removed with the help of a Dormia basket after endoscopic sphincterotomy. There were no complications of endoscopic therapy. In the two patients in whom biliary ascariasis was detected during surgery, the worms were removed after choledocholithotomy. On a mean follow-up of 13.8 months, only one patient had a recurrence of biliary ascariasis. It is concluded that biliary ascariasis is not an uncommon disease and must be considered as a possibility in patients presenting with acute cholangitis and biliary pain even in a non-endemic area. Ultrasonography is an excellent diagnostic tool and endoscopic management is very effective and safe in the treatment of these patients.
Does this elderly patient have iron deficiency anaemia, and what is the underlying cause?
Authors: Jolobe O M P
Published: July 2002

Important implications for the recognition of iron deficiency anaemia include diagnosis and correction of underlying causes, most of which are identifiable, in the older patient, by means of conventional upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, and by colonoscopy. The aetiological search may, however, have to be widened to include enteroscopic examination of the jejunum and ileum and, in some instances, investigation of potential non-gastrointestinal foci of chronic blood loss. A substantial minority may defy even the most thorough search for the underlying cause.
Importance of family history in type 2 black South African diabetic patients
Authors: Erasmus R T , Blanco E Blanco , Okesina A B , Arana J Mesa , Gqweta Z , Matsha T
Published: July 2002

OBJECTIVE

To assess the family history of diabetes in type 2 black South African diabetics with emphasis on the parental phenotype.

DESIGN

Prospective case-control study in which family histories were obtained from patients.

SETTING

Diabetic clinic of a provincial teaching hospital in the Transkei region of South Africa.

SUBJECTS

A total of 1111 type 2 diabetics attending the diabetic clinic and 687 controls.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

History of diabetes in parents, siblings, maternal and paternal grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

RESULTS

Altogether 27.3% of diabetic subjects had a family history of diabetes compared with 8.4% in the control group (p<0.01). Among the group with positive family history 82.6% reported only one diabetic family member, while 17.4% reported at least two relatives; 6.6% had a diabetic relative from both maternal and paternal sides, and 87.8% had first degree relative with diabetes. Among them there was a significant maternal aggregation with 64.7% of patients having a diabetic mother compared with 27% who had a diabetic father (p<0.01). No maternal effect was observed among the second and third degree relatives. Patients with positive family history had an earlier onset of diabetes than those without family history (p<0.01).

CONCLUSION

These data suggest that type 2 diabetes is heritable in black South African diabetics. It is also likely that maternal influences may play an important part.
Yoghurt biotherapy: contraindicated in immunosuppressed patients?
Authors: MacGregor G , Smith A J , Thakker B , Kinsella J
Published: July 2002

AUTHOR:e-mail address please A fatal case of Lactobacillus rhamnosus septicaemia after prolonged oral vancomycin for recalcitrant Clostridium difficile infection is reported. The patient was immunosuppressed with cyclophosphamide and steroids for Sjögren’s syndrome. The administration of Lactobacillus spp as “biotherapy” may be hazardous in such circumstances.
Print media coverage of California's smokefree bar law
Authors: Magzamen Sheryl , Charlesworth Annemarie , Glantz Stanton A
Published: July 2002

OBJECTIVE

To assess the print media coverage of California's smokefree bar law in the state of California.

DESIGN

Content analysis of newspaper, trade journal, and magazine items.

SUBJECTS

Items regarding the smokefree bar law published seven months before and one year following the implementation of the smokefree bar law (June 1997 to December 1998). Items consisted of news articles (n = 446), opinion editorials (n = 31), editorials (n = 104), letters to the editor (n = 240), and cartoons (n = 10).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Number and timing of publication of items, presence of tobacco industry arguments or public health arguments regarding law, positive, negative, and neutral views of opinion items published.

RESULTS

53% of items published concerning the smokefree bar law were news articles, 47% were opinion items. 45% of items regarding the smokefree bar law were published during the first month of implementation. The tobacco industry dominated coverage in most categories (economics, choice, enforcement, ventilation, legislation, individual quotes), except for categories public health used the most frequently (government role, tactics, organisational quotes). Anti-law editorials and letters to the editor were published more than pro-law editorials and letters. Region of the state, paper size, presence of local clean indoor air legislation, and voting on tobacco related ballot initiatives did not have an impact on the presence of opinion items.

CONCLUSIONS

The tobacco industry succeeded in obtaining more coverage of the smokefree bar law, both in news items and opinion items. The tobacco industry used historical arguments of restricting freedom of choice and economic ramifications in fighting the smokefree bar law, while public health groups focused on the worker protection issue, and exposed tobacco industry tactics. Despite the skewed coverage, public health groups obtained adequate attention to their arguments to keep the law in effect.
Mentholated cigarettes and smoking cessation: findings from COMMIT
Authors: Hyland A , Garten S , Giovino G A , Cummings K M
Published: July 2002

Objective:To examine the association between the use of menthol cigarettes and smoking cessation, amount smoked, and time to first cigarette in the morning.

Background:The majority of African American smokers smoke mentholated cigarettes. Some evidence suggests that African Americans may be more nicotine dependent than whites. One theory is that menthol in cigarettes is responsible for enhancing the dependence producing capacity of cigarettes; however, few studies have prospectively examined the association between menthol use and indicators of nicotine dependence.

Methods:Baseline smokers from the Community Intervention Trial for Smoking Cessation (COMMIT) completed a telephone tobacco use survey in 1988 and were re-interviewed in 1993. Use of mentholated cigarettes was assessed by self report at baseline. Indicators of dependence examined were six month cessation in 1993, amount smoked among continuing smokers in 1993, and time to first cigarette in the morning in 1988. Multivariate regression techniques were used to assess the association of baseline menthol use with these outcomes while controlling for other factors related to dependence.

Results:Overall, 24% of the sample smoked a mentholated brand in 1988. No consistent associations were observed for menthol use and indicators of dependence in both overall and race specific analyses. Factors significantly associated with increased menthol use were female sex, age 25–34 years, African American and Asian race/ethnicity, greater education, greater than 60 minutes to the first cigarette in the morning, two or more past quit attempts, and use of premium brand cigarettes. Canadian respondents and those who smoked 15–24 cigarettes per day had lower rates of menthol use. Use of mentholated cigarettes was not associated with quitting, amount smoked, or time to first cigarette in the morning.

Conclusion:Future work is needed to clarify the physiological and sociocultural mechanisms involved in mentholated cigarette smoking.
Re-evaluating gender and smoking in Thunderbirds 35 years on: Figure 1
Authors: Hunt K
Published: July 2002

The rescreening of a cult children's puppet show made originally in the 1960s, showing the main characters smoking on occasion, raises questions over the appropriateness of such images for today's young viewers
Reproductive ecology and allometry of red pine (Pinus resinosa) at the northwestern limit of its distribution range in Manitoba, Canada
Authors: Sutton Alanna , Staniforth Richard J , Tardif Jacques
Published: July 2002

Red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) has been described as a poor seed producer at its distribution range limit; however, few studies have verified this claim or have examined the factors influencing the reproduction of the species. In 2000, data were collected from 60 trees growing in Manitoba at the extreme northwest limit of the natural distribution range for this species. Cones per tree were counted and samples weighed and measured. Likewise, seeds per cone were counted, measured, weighed, and tested for germination. Correlation and regression analyses compared measured characteristics among cones, among individual trees, and among portions of tree crowns (north, west, south, and east portions). Cone abundance among individual trees was significantly and positively correlated with stem diameter and with basal area increment from 1 to 4 years preceding cone maturation. Cone size and fresh mass and seed abundance, mass, and germination were not significantly correlated with individual trees or crown portions; however, seed number per cone and seed size were found to be significantly and positively correlated with cone size. Germination success in red pine increased with seed mass to a certain threshold value, beyond which more than 80% of the seeds germinated no matter what their mass. Our data for 2000 and field observations for 1999 and 2001 showed that red pine at its northwest limit of distribution range produced numerous cones and viable seeds.Key words: red pine, Pinus resinosa, distribution limit, seeds, germination, cones.
Age-structured meta-analysis of U.S. West Coast rockfish (Scorpaenidae) populations and hierarchical modeling of trawl survey catchabilities
Authors: Millar Russell B , Methot Richard D
Published: July 2002

The swept-area estimates of biomass from the triennial groundfish trawl surveys on the shelf of the U.S. West Coast are believed to seriously underestimate rockfish (Scorpaenidae) stock biomasses. The bulk catchability (Q), defined to be the ratio between swept-area biomass and actual biomass, is herein modeled using a Bayesian age-structured meta-analysis of suitable West Coast rockfish stocks. Six shelf stocks of rockfish were used. The posterior distribution of Q was insensitive to choice of prior and gives a probability of about 0.05 that the bulk catchability of a randomly selected shelf rockfish species will be unity or higher. Between survey variability in bulk catchabilities was modeled as a multiplicative main effect. With individual posterior probabilities in excess of 0.99, bulk catchabilities were lower than normal in 1977 and 1980 and higher than normal in 1989 and 1998. The low catchabilities in 1977 and 1980 are consistent with previously identified problems with lack of bottom contact in the earlier years of the survey. Future work will extend the model to incorporate dynamic modeling of unassessed rockfish stocks, and suggestions for this are given.
Disentangling the effects of size-selective mortality, density, and temperature on length-at-age
Authors: Sinclair A F , Swain D P , Hanson J M
Published: July 2002

The relative importance of size-selective mortality, density-dependent growth, and temperature on growth of a commercial fish population was investigated using an integrated statistical analysis. Two indices of size-selective mortality were determined using otolith backcalculations. One index measured the direct effect on population mean growth increments in the year of the growth increment. The second index measured the cumulative effect on the growth potential of a cohort. Indices of population density, occupied temperature, and bottom temperature were developed from annual synoptic research vessel surveys of the population. We simultaneously tested effects of these factors using a modified von Bertalanffy growth model. The strongest effect was variation in size-selective mortality, followed by a negative effect of population density and a weak positive effect of occupied temperature. Effects of bottom temperature conditions were not significant. Failure to simultaneously consider alternative mechanisms, especially size-selective mortality, can lead to incorrect conclusions about the role of environmental factors in determining growth of fishes.
On the constant of motion of dissipative systems
Authors: Patiño A , Rago H
Published: July 2002

We apply results on symmetries of equations of motion and equivalent Lagrangians to obtain a constant of motion for a particle travelling through a viscous medium and for the damped harmonic oscillator.

PACS No.: 45.20Jj
Electrical conductivity and thermo-electric power of a-Se80xInx and Se80xGe20Inx thin films
Authors: Khan Z H , Zulfeqaur M , Kumar A , Husain M
Published: July 2002

The dc conductivity and thermo-electric power of a-Se80xInx (x = 5, 10, 15, 20, 30) and a-Se80xGe20Inx (x = 0, 5, 10, 15, 20) thin films are reported in the present work. The free-charge-carrier concentration is calculated with the help of dc conductivity and thermo-electric power measurements. The calculated values of the free-charge-carrier concentration have been used to evaluate the free-charge-carrier mobility from which the grain boundary potential was evaluated. The results are interpreted in terms of band tailing and the structure of SeIn, SeGeIn, and the grain boundary potential barrier.

PACS Nos.: 73.61-p, 61.43Dq
Design and performance of a microstrip reflectarray on a uniaxial substrate
Authors: Iliadis A , Siakavara K
Published: July 2002

A design formulation of microstrip reflectarrays is presented in this paper. Previous published articles, referring to this subject, present results for reflectarrays on a uniform dielectric substrate. In this work microstrip reflectarrays with offset feed, dual polarization, and side-lobe level under control, fabricated on a uniaxial substrate were studied. The method of moments, combined with the full-wave technique, and the corresponding dyadic Green's function is used for the specification of the electromagnetic field scattered by the array.

PACS No.: 84.40B
Rapidly rotating sliding cylinders: Trajectories with large lateral displacements
Authors: Shegelski M R.A. , Holenstein R
Published: July 2002

We show that rapidly rotating cylinders sliding on smooth surfaces can exhibit novel trajectories. The lateral deflection can be as large as the net displacement in the initial direction of motion. With a large enough initial angular speed, the cylinder can trace out a spiral trajectory having a large number of loops. An exact analytical result for large lateral deflection is also derived.

PACS No.: 4600
Solar neutrinos
Authors: Liboff R L
Published: July 2002

A self-consistent study of the solar-neutrino problem is described in terms of an equation of state for the solar core and the radial distribution function. This formulation permits a direct estimate of solar-neutrino emission from the main pp sequence that yields a decrease of neutrino emission in approximate agreement with measured decrement of global incidence. The study further implies that the neutrino yield decreases as the sixth power of the range of the pp fusing domain. A rough estimate of the solar-core temperature, in the formalism of the present work, yields a value within 2% of that of the standard model.

PACS Nos: 96.40Tv, 96.40Fg, 96.60Vg, 98.85Qx
QED effective action revisited
Authors: Jentschura U D , Gies H , Valluri S R , Lamm D R , Weniger E J
Published: July 2002

The derivation of a convergent series representation for the quantum electrodynamic effective action obtained by two of us (S.R.V. and D.R.L.) in [Can. J. Phys. 71, 389 (1993)] is reexamined. We present more details of our original derivation. Moreover, we discuss the relation of the electric-magnetic duality to the integral representation for the effective action, and we consider the application of nonlinear convergence acceleration techniques that permit the efficient and reliable numerical evaluation of the quantum correction to the Maxwell Lagrangian.

PACS Nos.: 11.15Bt, 11.10Jj, 12.20Ds
Evaluation of subgrade and climatic zone influences on pavement performance in the Canadian Strategic Highway Program's (C-SHRP) Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) study
Authors: Tighe Susan
Published: July 2002

Sixty-five sections in 24 provincial test sites received pavement rehabilitation comprising of various thicknesses of asphalt overlays, as part of the Canadian Long-Term Pavement Performance (C-LTPP) study, which was initiated in 1989. This paper describes the impacts of the various alternative rehabilitation treatments on pavement performance in terms of roughness progression under comparative climatic, subgrade soil, and traffic loading conditions. Some findings from this study include (i) in wet, high-freeze zones, thinner overlays show a higher rate of roughness progression than thicker overlays, regardless of subgrade type; (ii) in dry, high-freeze zones, roughness progression for medium and thick overlays is relatively small; (iii) in wet, low-freeze zones, thinner overlays combined with fine subgrade soils show the highest rate of roughness progression; and (iv) traffic, in terms of equivalent single axle loads (ESALs), seemed to have a limited effect on all of the above; this was attributed largely to the fact that all of the traffic essentially fell into one level, where 200 000 ESALs per year was designated as the boundary between low and high traffic levels. The methodology developed in this paper provides valuable insight into how subgrade and climatic factors influence pavement performance and can be applied to performance trend analysis of other pavements with similar climatic, subgrade, and traffic loading conditions.Key words: subgrade type, climatic zones, pavement roughness, international roughness index (IRI), Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP).
Vibratory compaction of coarse-grained soils
Authors: Massarsch K Rainer , Fellenius Bengt H
Published: July 2002

The variation of the coefficient of earth pressure in normally consolidated and overconsolidated soil and the effect of soil compaction on the change of the horizontal effective stress are discussed based on cone penetration test (CPT) data. A method is outlined for estimating the increase in the effective earth pressure based on sleeve friction measurements. Soil compaction increases not only soil density, but also horizontal effective stress. Since the cone stress is influenced by the vertical and horizontal effective stress, particularly at shallow depths, the cone stress needs to be adjusted for effective mean stress. A relation is presented for determining the soil compressibility from the adjusted cone stress. A case history is presented where a 10 m thick sand fill was compacted using vibratory compaction. Cone penetration tests indicated a significant increase in cone stress and sleeve friction and a decrease in compressibility (increase in modulus number) due to compaction. The friction ratio was unchanged. It was concluded that the earth pressure about doubled corresponding to an increase in the overconsolidation ratio of at least 5. The results of settlement calculations based on the Janbu method demonstrate the importance of considering the preconsolidation effect in the analyses.Key words: sand, CPTU, vibratory compaction, earth pressure, overconsolidation, modulus number, settlement.
Time-based two dimensional modelling of NATM tunnelling
Authors: Shin J H , Potts D M
Published: July 2002

A two dimensional model is commonly employed in practice for the analysis of tunnelling. Such analyses are computationally cheap and are useful for assessing the sensitivity of the problem to the construction method, studying the influence of varying soil conditions, and (or) finding appropriate locations for placing measuring instruments. However, simulating the three dimensional nature of tunnelling in two dimensions requires certain simplifications, including the use of empirical parameters to represent the construction sequence. In many cases the choice of parameter values are arbitrary and often not fully explained. In addition, the modelling methods are often only applicable for undrained or fully drained soil conditions where no time-dependent behaviour is involved during tunnel construction. In this paper an alternative two dimensional approach termed the "time-based modelling method" is proposed that can simulate both the three dimensional effects at the tunnel heading and the time-dependent behaviour during construction. It is proposed that the new approach is appropriate for the analysis of tunnelling in a relatively permeable soil and, as an example, the method is applied to the analysis of a new Austrian tunnelling method (NATM) tunnelling problem in decomposed granite soil. The results are compared with field data and excellent agreement is obtained.Key words: numerical modelling, time-dependent behaviour, NATM tunnelling, decomposed granite soil.
Cross-protection against challenge by intravenousEscherichia coliverocytotoxin 1 (VT1) in rabbits immunized with VT2 toxoid
Authors: Ludwig K , Karmali M A , Smith C R , Petric M
Published: July 2002

Rabbits challenged intravenously with Escherichia coli verocytotoxin (VT1, Shiga toxin 1, Stx1) die after developing diarrhea and paralysis, and this outcome can be prevented by pre-immunization with VT1 toxoid. In nonimmune rabbits, intravenously administered125I-VT1 binds to the central nervous system and gastrointestinal tract, whereas in immunized animals, these organs are spared and the toxin localizes in the liver and spleen. In rabbits immunized with either VT1 or VT2 toxoids, both the homologous or heterologous toxins are prevented from binding to target organs. This has lead to the advancement of a hypothesis that cross-protection in vivo can be induced to both toxins by immunization with a toxoid even though these toxins do not exhibit cross-neutralization in vitro. It was shown that rabbits immunized with VT2 were fully protected from the intravenous administration of 10 LD50and 50 LD50of VT1, and this correlated directly with the protection from binding of this toxin to target organs. These findings have important implications on the design of the vaccination strategies to prevent human VT-mediated diseases and also validate the concept of testing for immunity to VT by monitoring the inhibition of binding of the125I-VT to target organs in preference to performing LD50assays.Key words: Escherichia coli, verocytotoxins, immunity, cross-protection.
Role of nitric oxide in tumour progression with special reference to a murine breast cancer model
Authors: Jadeski Lorraine C , Chakraborty Chandan , Lala Peeyush K
Published: July 2002

Nitric oxide (NO) is a potent bioactive molecule produced in the presence of NO synthase (NOS) enzymes, which mediates numerous physiological functions under constitutive conditions. Sustained overproduction of NO (and NO-reaction products), typically under inductive conditions, can lead to cell cycle arrest and cellular apoptosis. Furthermore, carcinogenesis may result from mutational events following NO-mediated DNA damage and hindrance to DNA repair (e.g., mutation of tumour-suppressor gene p53). In a majority of human and experimental tumours, tumour-derived NO appears to stimulate tumour progression; however, for a minority of tumours, the opposite has been reported. This apparent discrepancy may be explained by differential susceptibility of tumour cells to NO-mediated cytostasis or apoptosis, and the emergence of NO-resistant and NO-dependent clones. NO-resistance may be mediated by p53 inactivation, and upregulation of cyclo-oxygenase-2 and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70). In a murine mammary tumour model, tumour-derived NO promoted tumour growth and metastasis by enhancing invasive, angiogenic, and migratory capacities of tumour cells. Invasion stimulation followed the altered balance of matrix metalloproteases and their inhibitors; migration stimulation followed activation of guanylate cyclase and MAP kinase pathways. Selective NOS inhibitors may have a therapeutic role in certain cancers.Key words: nitric oxide, carcinogenesis, invasion, metastasis, angiogenesis.
ON SPECTRAL AND SCATTERING THEORY FOR N-BODY, SCHRÖDINGER OPERATORS IN A CONSTANT MAGNETIC FIELD
Authors: ADACHI TADAYOSHI
Published: July 2002

We consider an N-body quantum system in a constant magnetic field which consists of just one charged and the other N - 1 neutral particles. We prove the existence of a conjugate operator for the Hamiltonian which governs the system, and show the asymptotic completeness of the system under short-range assumptions on the pair potentials.
GEOMETRICAL SETTING OF TIME-DEPENDENT REGULAR SYSTEMS: ALTERNATIVE MODELS.
Authors: ECHEVERRÍA ENRÍQUEZ A. , MUÑOZ LECANDA M. C. , ROMÁN ROY N.
Published: July 2002

We analyse exhaustively the geometric formulations of the time-dependent regular dynamical systems, both the Hamiltonian and the Lagrangian formalisms. We study the equivalence between the different models and, in each case, between the Lagrangian and the Hamiltonian formulations, giving the suitable definitions of the Legendre transformation. In addition, we include the variational formalisms as well as the Klein formalism.
MARKOV SEMIGROUPS ON UHF ALGEBRAS
Authors: MATSUI TAKU
Published: July 2002

We consider a class of Markov semigroups on UHF algebras. We establish the existence of dynamics for long range interactions. Our idea is a non-commutative extension of the argument for classical interacting particle systems. As a by-product we obtain sufficient conditions for unique ergodicity.
ON SASAKIAN–EINSTEIN GEOMETRY
Authors: BOYER CHARLES P. , GALICKI KRZYSZTOF
Published: July 2002

We introduce a multiplication ⋆ (we call it a join) on the space of all compact Sasakian-Einstein orbifolds [Formula: see text] and show that [Formula: see text] has the structure of a commutative associative topological monoid. The set [Formula: see text] of all compact regular Sasakian–Einstein manifolds is then a submonoid. The set of smooth manifolds in [Formula: see text] is not closed under this multiplication; however, the join [Formula: see text] of two Sasakian–Einstein manifolds is smooth under some additional conditions which we specify. We use this construction to obtain many old and new examples of Sasakain–Einstein manifolds. In particular, in every odd dimension greater that five we obtain spaces with arbitrary second Betti number.
GENUS-ZERO MODULAR FUNCTORS AND INTERTWINING OPERATOR ALGEBRAS
Authors: HUANG YI-ZHI
Published: July 2002

In [7] and [9], the author introduced the notion of intertwining operator algebra, a nonmeromorphic generalization of the notion of vertex operator algebra involving monodromies. The problem of constructing intertwining operator algebras from representations of suitable vertex operator algebras was solved implicitly earlier in [5]. In the present paper, we generalize the geometric and operadic formulation of the notion of vertex operator algebra given in [3, 4, 11, 12, 8] to the notion of intertwining operator algebra. We show that the category of intertwining operator algebras of central charge [Formula: see text] is isomorphic to the category of algebras over rational genus-zero modular functors (certain analytic partial operads) of central charge c satisfying a certain generalized meromorphicity property. This result is one main step in the construction of genus-zero conformal field theories from representations of vertex operator algebras announced in [7]. One byproduct of the proof of the present isomorphism theorem is a geometric construction of (framed) braid group representations from intertwining operator algebras and, in particular, from representations of suitable vertex operator algebras.
AB INITIO ANALYTIC FORCE CONSTANT USING SPHERICAL GAUSSIAN FUNCTION
Authors: PAKIARI A. H. , SOLIMANNEJAD M.
Published: July 2002

Analytic second derivative of molecular energy with respect to all parameters for floating Gaussian type orbitals were proposed for the first time in our group.1 In the present study, further simplification and application has been made and the viability of the method was demonstrated by writing a program and computing the analytic force constant of H 2, LiH and BH molecules. It is shown that this method is efficient both in accuracy and saving in computational time.
A VADEMECUM ON QUARK–HADRON DUALITY
Authors: BIGI IKAROS , URALTSEV NIKOLAI
Published: July 2002

We present an elementary introduction to the problem of quark–hadron duality and its practical limitations, in particular as it concerns local duality violation in inclusive B meson decays. We show that the accurate definition of duality violation elaborated over the recent years allows one to derive informative constraints on violations of local duality. The magnitude of duality violation is particularly restricted in the total semileptonic widths. This explains its strong suppression in concrete dynamical estimates. We analyze the origin of the suppression factors in a model-independent setting, including a fresh perspective on the small velocity expansion. A new potentially significant mechanism for the violation of local duality in Γ sl (B) is analyzed. Yet we conclude that the amount of duality violation in Γ sl (B) must be safely below the half percent level, with realistic estimates being actually much smaller. The violation of local duality in Γ sl (B) is thus far below the level relevant to phenomenology. We also present a cautionary note on the B→D* decay amplitude at zero recoil and show that it is much more vulnerable to violations of quark–hadron duality than Γ sl (B). A critical review of some recent literature is given. We point out that the presently limiting factor in genuinely model-independent extraction of Vcb is the precise value of the short-distance charm quark mass. We suggest a direct and precise experimental check of local quark–hadron duality in semileptonic B→ Xcℓν decays.
ON THE THEORETICAL UNCERTAINTIES IN THE MUON ANOMALOUS MAGNETIC MOMENT
Authors: MELNIKOV KIRILL
Published: July 2002

I present a fairly detailed discussion of various contributions to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon aμ. I try to give an unbiased evaluation of the validity of the SM prediction for this quantity and to point out some delicate issues involved in its calculation. I conclude that the theory uncertainties in the SM prediction for the muon anomalous magnetic moment are underestimated and a great deal of work will be required to reduce these uncertainties to the level required by experiment.
BRANE COSMOLOGY WITH NON-STATIC BULK
Authors: NAYERI ALI
Published: July 2002

We study the brane world motion in non-static bulk by generalizing the second Randall-Sundrum scenario Explicitly, we take the bulk to be a Vaidya-AdS metric, which describes the gravitational collapse of a spherically symmetric null dust fluid in Anti-de Sitter spacetime. We point out that during an inflationary phase on the brane, black holes will tend to be thermally nucleated in the bulk We analyze the thermodynamical properties of this brane-world. We point out that during an inflationary phase on the brane, black holes will tend to be thermally nucleated in the bulk. Thermal equilibrium of the system is discussed. We calculate the late time behavior of this system, including 1-loop effects. We argue that at late times a sufficiently large black hole will relax to a point of thermal equilibrium with the brane-world environment. This result has interesting implications for early-universe cosmology.
COSMIC DEFECTS AND CMB ANISOTROPY
Authors: POGOSIAN LEVON
Published: July 2002

Recent measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies by BOOMERANG and MAXIMA collaborations have tightened the observational constraints on theories of structure formation. They disagree with the predictions of conventional topological defect models. Considering the fact that topological defects are predicted by the majority of realistic particle physics models, the exact nature of the constraints imposed by the recent data on the population and the properties of the defects must be fully understood. We show that the predictions of current cosmic string models can be brought into a closer agreement with the observations by choosing a closed universe with Ω = 1.3 and by including the effects of the small-scale structure and radiation products of the strings. These alone, however, are not sufficient for obtaining a good fit to the measured shape of the angular power spectrum. To fit the data cosmic strings would either have to be correlated on large (perhaps superhorizon) scales or would have to possess a higher degree of coherence, i.e. be more "time-correlated".
THE PERIODIC TABLE OF STATIC FERMION BAGS IN THE GROSS-NEVEU MODEL
Authors: FEINBERG JOSHUA
Published: July 2002

We study the spectrum of stable static fermion bags in the 1 + 1 dimensional Gross-Neveu model with N flavors of Dirac fermions, in the large N limit. In the process, we discover a new kink, heavier than the Callan-Coleman-Gross-Zee (CCGZ) kink, which is marginally stable (at least in the large N limit). The connection of this new kink and the conjectured S matrix of the Gross-Neveu model is obscured at this point. After identifying all stable static fermion bags, we arrange them into a periodic table, according to their O(2N) and topological quantum numbers.
DEVIATION FROM THE THERMAL EQUILIBRIUM OF THE ACCELERATED DETEKTOR DUE TO THE FIELD THEORETICAL DIVERGENCE
Authors: SUZUKI NORIKAZU
Published: July 2002

We investigate the influence of the field-theoretical divergence on the thermal equilibrium property by employing the model of a uniformly accelerated monopole detector nonlinearly coupled to a scalar field in the flat space with the Dirichlet boundary condition. Introducing the Gaussian switching factor to the interaction between the detector and the field, we estimate the correction to the response function coming from this swithing factor. We find that the deviation from the thermal equilibrium of the response of this detector is mostly due to the interplay between the divergence and the existence of the boundary, when the detector is kept switched on during a large but finite amount of time.
NONLINEARITY IN MATERIALS SCIENCE
Authors: MOLINA M. I.
Published: July 2002

We discuss the all-important issue of nonlinearity in the physical sciences, with emphasis on its importance in condensed matter physics, where nonlinearity provides a natural mechanism for selective trapping of excitations, such as electrons, at a microscopic scale. This mechanism, term "selftrapping", is investigated in a variety of lattices with different geometries and dimensionalities. It is found that its main features are universal and robust against perturbations of several kind. These findings would have an impact on the future design of smart materials with pre-ordained transport properties, a much sought-after feature nowadays. We also discuss an application of the selftrapping ideas to the problem of power switching in nonlinear optics, an important issue when considering the design of an all-optical computer.
EFFECT OF NONLINEAR STAGE ON SPINODAL DECOMPOSITION
Authors: PARK YUNG
Published: July 2002

This paper is no longer available. Please contact "ijmpb@wspc.com"
CALCULATION OF THE CRITICAL TEMPERATURE OF AN INTERACTING BOSE GAS BY MEANFIELD APPROXIMATION
Authors: SUZUKI HIDENORI , SUZUKI MASUO
Published: July 2002

The critical temperature of a uniform interacting Bose gas is shown to be increased by the repulsive interaction in the frame work of meanfield approximation, which has been regarded by many authors to be useless for studying the shift of the critical point. Furthermore, the critical temperature of a Bose gas with the general dispersion εp=cpk is also increased by the repulsive interaction between quasiparticles. The critical temperature of a trapped gas is also estimated in the same meanfield approximation. The present results agree qualitatively with those obtained perturbationally by other authors.
ON THE FREE ENERGY STRUCTURE OF ANTIFERROMAGNETIC POTTS MODEL
Authors: YOKOTA TERUFUMI
Published: July 2002

Ordered phase for the antiferromagnetic Potts model is a controversial problem. For the three state Potts model, whether the phase just below the antiferromagnetic transition temperature is rotationally symmetric or not has not been settled. This comes from subtle free energy structure near the phase transition. Numerical simulations can be hampered by the subtlety because of finite size effects. Necessary size of systems for simulations to distinguish possible ordered states is estimated by solving self-consistent equations within the pair approximation to obtain free energies of ordered states and saddle points between them.
METAL ATOMS IN CARBON NANOTUBES AND RELATED NANOPARTICLES
Authors: BANHART F. , GROBERT N. , TERRONES M. , CHARLIER J.-C. , AJAYAN P. M.
Published: July 2002

The paper reviews the present state of research in the field of metal-carbon nanocomposites and the interaction of metal atoms with graphitic structures. Metal crystals can be encapsulated within graphitic shells of cylindrical, spherical, or other geometry. Various chemical and physical production methods to generate metal containing carbon nanotubes and possible microscopic formation mechanisms are presented. In this context, the role of metals as catalysts in the formation of single-walled carbon nanotubes is discussed. The interaction of metal atoms with the graphitic lattice is of particular interest. In situ electron microscopy is used to study the behaviour of individual metal atoms in a graphitic lattice. Furthermore, novel nanostructures can be generated under electron irradiation. Finally, an overview of theoretical studies using molecular dynamics and tight binding calculations of the carbon-metal interaction is given.
VAN HOVE THEORY FOR THERMOELECTRIC POWER IN HIGH-Tc CUPRATES
Authors: WANG Y. G. , LIU M. , YANG Y. H. , XING D. Y.
Published: July 2002

The van Hove model of a two-dimensional band structure with nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor hopping integrals is used to account for unusual temperature and doping dependence of the thermoelectric power (TEP) in cuprate superconductors. It is shown that the present theory can reproduce global trends of TEP data, including a positive peak of TEP in the underdoped regime, a decrease in TEP with increasing doping, a change in sign of TEP nearby the optimal doping, and an approximately linear decrease in TEP with temperature.
INITIAL CONDITION SENSITIVITY IN LATTICE RELAXATION AND DOMAIN FORMATION AFTER PHOTOEXCITATION
Authors: MIZOUCHI H.
Published: July 2002

We theoretically study the lattice relaxation dynamics of a photogenerated exciton resulting in the macroscopic domain. Especially, we concentrate on the "initial condition sensitivity" of the exciton proliferation. This characteristic is as follows. The generation efficiency of the domain depends sensitively on the way of the initial photoexcitation, even if the total photon energy is same. We consider the 1-dimensional many exciton-Einstein phonon system interacting with a reservoir. Within the Markov approximation, the time evolution of the density matrix is investigated full-quantummechanically. Here, we derive the iterative equation for the proliferation and numerically solve it, so that we can treat multi-exciton states in the large system. Depending on the way of the photoexcitation, the initial distance between photogenerated excitions is assumed to take various values. We have shown that the exciton proliferation successfully occurs only when the initial distance is not too short netiher too long. This sensitivity to the initial distance is due to the nonlinear interaction between excitons.