bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Which documentation for software maintenance?
Authors: de Souza Sergio Cozzetti B. , Anquetil Nicolas , de Oliveira Káthia M.
Published: December 2010

Software engineering has been striving for years to improve the practice of software development and maintenance. Documentation has long been prominent on the list of recommended practices to improve development and help maintenance. Recently however, agile methods started to shake this view, arguing that the goal of the game is to produce software and that documentation is only useful as long as it helps to reach this goal.

On the other hand, in the re-engineering field, people wish they could re-document useful legacy software so that they may continue maintain them or migrate them to new platform.

In these two case, a crucial question arises: “How much documentation is enough?” In this article, we present the results of a survey of software maintainers to try to establish what documentation artifacts are the most important to them.
The impact of spatial data redundancy on SOLAP query performance
Authors: Siqueira Thiago Luís Lopes , Ciferri Cristina Dutra de Aguiar , Times Valéria Cesário , de Oliveira Anjolina Grisi , Ciferri Ricardo Rodrigues
Published: December 2010

Geographic Data Warehouses (GDW) are one of the main technologies used in decision-making processes and spatial analysis, and the literature proposes several conceptual and logical data models for GDW. However, little effort has been focused on studying how spatial data redundancy affects SOLAP (Spatial On-Line Analytical Processing) query performance over GDW. In this paper, we investigate this issue. Firstly, we compare redundant and non-redundant GDW schemas and conclude that redundancy is related to high performance losses. We also analyze the issue of indexing, aiming at improving SOLAP query performance on a redundant GDW. Comparisons of the SB-index approach, the star-join aided by R-tree and the star-join aided by GiST indicate that the SB-index significantly improves the elapsed time in query processing from 25% up to 99% with regard to SOLAP queries defined over the spatial predicates of intersection, enclosure and containment and applied to roll-up and drill-down operations. We also investigate the impact of the increase in data volume on the performance. The increase did not impair the performance of the SB-index, which highly improved the elapsed time in query processing. Performance tests also show that the SB-index is far more compact than the star-join, requiring only a small fraction of at most 0.20% of the volume. Moreover, we propose a specific enhancement of the SB-index to deal with spatial data redundancy. This enhancement improved performance from 80 to 91% for redundant GDW schemas.
Ultrasonography‐guided hepatic tumor resection using a real‐time virtual sonography with indocyanine green navigation (with videos)
Authors: Kasuya Kazuhiko , Sugimoto Katsutoshi , Kyo Bunsoh , Nagakawa Yuichi , Ikeda Takahisa , Mori Yasuharu , Wada Tatehiko , Suzuki Minako , Nagai Takeshi , Itoi Takao , Shimazu Motohide , Aoki Tatsuya , Tsuchida Akihiko
Published: December 2010

Purpose

For hepatic tumors that cannot be identified on routine ultrasonography (US), we marked the target area using real‐time virtual sonography (RVS) with indocyanine green (ICG)–ethanol (1:100) during surgery, and performed hepatic resection while observing the fluorescence.

Experiment

An ICG–ethanol mixture locally injected into mouse liver was retained in the same area for more than 4 h. The same mixture locally injected into pig liver at a depth of 3 cm could be observed using an infrared camera.

Case

An ICG–ethanol mixture (500 μl) was locally injected under RVS guidance into a metastatic hepatic tumor that was visible only on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and hepatic resection was performed while Photodynamic Eye (PDE) images were being observed. The metastatic lesion (3 mm in diameter in a pathological specimen) could be successfully resected.

Conclusion

This method was useful for resecting US‐invisible hepatic tumors.
Angelman syndrome: advancing the research frontier of neurodevelopmental disorders
Authors: Philpot Benjamin D. , Thompson Coral E. , Franco Lisa , Williams Charles A.
Published: December 2010

This report is a meeting summary of the 2010 Angelman Syndrome Foundation's scientific symposium on the neuroscience of UBE3A. Angelman syndrome is characterized by loss of speech, severe developmental delay, seizures, and ataxia. These core symptoms are caused by maternal allele disruptions of a single gene—UBE3A. UBE3A encodes an E3 ubiquitin ligase that targets certain proteins for proteasomal degradation. This biology has led to the expectation that the identification of Ube3a protein targets will lead to therapies for Angelman syndrome. The recent discovery of Ube3a substrates such as Arc (activity-regulated cytoskeletal protein) provides new insight into the mechanisms underlying the synaptic function and plasticity deficits caused by the loss of Ube3a. In addition to identifying Ube3a substrates, there have also been recent advances in understanding UBE3A's integrated role in the neuronal repertoire of genes and protein interactions. A developmental picture is now emerging whereby UBE3A gene dosage on chromosome 15 alters synaptic function, with deficiencies leading to Angelman syndrome and overexpression associated with classic autism symptomatology.
Application oriented connected dominating set-based cluster formation in wireless sensor networks
Authors: Anitha V. S. , Sebastian M. P.
Published: December 2010

Clustering is a fundamental mechanism used in the design of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) protocols. The performance of WSNs can be improved by selecting the most suitable nodes to form a stable backbone structure with guaranteed network coverage. This paper proposes a base station-controlled centralized algorithm for static sensor networks and a distributed, weighted algorithm for dynamic sensor networks. The solutions are based on a (k,r)-Connected Dominating Set, which is suitable for cluster-based hierarchical routing. The clusterhead redundancy parameterkimproves reliability, the multi-hop parameterraddresses the scalability issue and the combined weight metric improves the network lifespan and reduces the number of re-affiliations. To create a stable and efficient backbone structure, the backbone sensor nodes are selected based on quality, which is a function of the residual battery power, node degree, transmission range, and mobility of the sensor nodes. Simulation experiments are conducted to evaluate the performance of both the algorithms in terms of the number of elements in the backbone structure, re-affiliation frequency, load balancing, network lifespan, and the power dissipation. The results establish the potential of these algorithms for use in WSNs.
On the energy exchange between resonant modes in nonlinear Schrödinger equations
Authors: Grébert Benoît , Villegas-Blas Carlos
Published: December 2010

We consider the nonlinear Schrödinger equation

i\psi _{t} = −\psi _{xx} \pm 2\mathrm{\cos }2x|\psi |^{2}\psi ,\:x \in S^{1},\:t \in \mathbb{R}

and we prove that the solution of this equation, with small initial datum

\psi (0,x) = \varepsilon (A\mathrm{\exp }(ix) + B\mathrm{\exp }(−ix))

, will periodically exchange energy between the Fourier modes

e^{ix}

and

e^{−ix}

as soon as

A^{2} \neq B^{2}

. This beating effect is described up to time of order

\varepsilon ^{−5/ 2}

while the frequency is of order

\varepsilon ^{2}

. We also discuss some generalizations.

Nous considérons l'équation de Schödinger non linéaire

i\psi _{t} = −\psi _{xx} \pm 2\mathrm{\cos }2x|\psi |^{2}\psi ,\:x \in S^{1},\:t \in \mathbb{R}

et nous montrons la solution de cette équation ayant pour donnée initiale

\psi (0,x) = \varepsilon (A\mathrm{\exp }(ix) + B\mathrm{\exp }(−ix))

avec

ε

petit, va échanger périodiquement de l'énergie entre les modes de Fourier

e^{ix}

et

e^{−ix}

dès que

A^{2} \neq B^{2}

. Cet effet de battement, dont la période est de l'ordre de

\varepsilon ^{−2}

, est mis en évidence pour des temps de l'ordre de

\varepsilon ^{−5/ 2}

. Nous présentons aussi quelques généralisations.
Royal Naval visits to Tristan da Cunha 1852–1904: an annotated list
Authors: Stone Ian R.
Published: December 2010

From 1852 to 1904 the captains of Royal Naval vessels visiting Tristan da Cunha were generally expected to prepare reports on their visits and these were published, usually in British Government papers. These reports constitute a most significant group of primary sources for the history of the island and they also provide information concerning the attitudes of the captains of the vessels to the islanders and their society. An annotated list of these visits is presented.
Safe physical human–robot interaction of mobility assistance robots: evaluation index and control
Authors: Pervez Aslam , Ryu Jeha
Published: December 2010

Independent mobility is one of the major challenges for elderly. Assistive robots must guarantee user's safety. Existing methods to quantitatively express user's safety are not applicable to mobility assistance robots due to physical attachment. This paper proposes a danger index to estimate user's safety during mobility assistance. The formulation and validation of the index is achieved through extensive subjective and objective experimentation. A motion control method is also introduced that uses the proposed danger index for monitoring user's safety and initiating proper safety actions in case of danger. As an example, experimental results with SpiderBot-II are reported in this paper.
Product structures for Legendrian contact homology
Authors: CIVAN GOKHAN , KOPROWSKI PAUL , ETNYRE JOHN , SABLOFF JOSHUA M. , WALKER ALDEN
Published: December 2010

Legendrian contact homology (LCH) is a powerful non-classical invariant of Legendrian knots. Linearization makes the LCH computationally tractable at the expense of discarding nonlinear (and non-commutative) information. To recover some of the nonlinear information while preserving computability, we introduce invariant cup and Massey products – and, more generally, anA∞structure – on the linearized LCH. We apply the products andA∞structure in three ways: to find infinite families of Legendrian knots that are not isotopic to their Legendrian mirrors, to reinterpret the duality theorem of the fourth author in terms of the cup product, and to recover higher-order linearizations of the LCH.
Molecular support for Pleistocene persistence of the continental Antarctic moss Bryum argenteum
Authors: Hills Simon F.K. , Stevens Mark I. , Gemmill Chrissen E.C.
Published: December 2010

We examined sequence variation of ITS and phy2 for Bryum argenteum from Antarctica, sub-Antarctic, New Zealand and Australia to understand better taxonomic delimitations and resolve relationships between these geographic regions. Bryum argenteum has been recorded as two species, B. argenteum and B. subrotundifolium, in all four regions with the latter now referred to as B. argenteum var. muticum. We found disagreement between taxon delimitations (based on morphology) and molecular markers. All continental Antarctic specimens consistently formed a monophyletic sister group that consisted of both morphologically identified B. argenteum varieties, separate to all non-Antarctic specimens (also consisting of both varieties). We suggest, contrary to previous records, that all continental Antarctic (Victoria Land) populations are referable to B. argenteum var. muticum, while sub-Antarctic, Australian and New Zealand populations included here are B. argenteum var. argenteum. Additionally, since there was less genetic diversity within Victoria Land, Antarctica, than observed between non-Antarctic samples, we suggest that this is, in part, due to a potentially lower rate of DNA substitution and isolation in northern and southern refugia within Victoria Land since the Pleistocene.
South Georgia: a key location for linking physiological capacity to distributional changes in response to climate change
Authors: Morley S.A. , Griffiths H.J. , Barnes D.K.A. , Peck L.S.
Published: December 2010

Antarctic marine invertebrates from the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) are generally stenothermal, with three-month survival and activity limits above the average maximum summer seawater temperature (1.0°C) of 1–6°C and 1–3°C respectively. For many of these species to survive the warmer maximum temperature at the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia (5°C), they require either greater thermal flexibility, or must avoid the warmest water-masses. The mean depths and depth range of WAP gastropod and bivalve molluscs were compared with the mean depths of these same species at South Georgia; separated into water masses delimited by the 1°C isotherm at South Georgia, surface Antarctic water (SAW < 90 m), winter water (WW 90–150 m) and circumpolar deep water (CDW > 150 m). Bivalves in the SAW and CDW categories at the WAP were centred around the cooler WW (< 1.2°C) at South Georgia, with a narrower mean depth range for CDW bivalves. There was no difference in the average depth of gastropods, but a reduced depth range in the CDW. The apparent temperature limit to bivalve mean depths and not gastropods at South Georgia, suggests that further latitudinal comparisons could yield information on the underlying physiological mechanisms determining the range limits of Southern Ocean fauna.
Diversity ofLecidea(Lecideaceae, Ascomycota) species revealed by molecular data and morphological characters
Authors: Ruprecht Ulrike , Lumbsch H. Thorsten , Brunauer Georg , Green T.G. Allan , Türk Roman
Published: December 2010

The diversity of lichens, especially crustose species, in continental Antarctica is still poorly known. To overcome difficulties with the morphology based species delimitations in these groups, we employed molecular data (nuclear ITS and mitochondrial SSU rDNA sequences) to test species boundaries within the genusLecidea.Sampling was done along a north–south transect at five different areas in the Ross Sea region (Cape Hallett, Botany Bay to Mount Suess, Taylor Valley, Darwin Area and Mount Kyffin). A total of 153 specimens were collected from 13 localities. Phylogenetic analyses also include specimens from other regions in Antarctica and non-Antarctic areas. Maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses agreed in placing the samples from continental Antarctica into four major groups. Based on this phylogenetic estimate, we restudied the micromorphology and secondary chemistry of these four clades to evaluate the use of these characters as phylogenetic discriminators. These clades are identified as the following speciesLecidea cancriformis,L. andersoniias well as the new speciesL. polypycnidophoraRuprecht & Türk sp. nov. and another previously unnamed clade of uncertain status, referred to asLecideasp. (L.UCR1).
Resolving environmental drivers of microbial community structure in Antarctic soils
Authors: Smith Julie L. , Barrett John E. , Tusnády Gábor , Rejtö Lídia , Cary S. Craig
Published: December 2010

Antarctic soils are extremely cold, dry, and oligotrophic, yet harbour surprisingly high bacterial diversity. The severity of environmental conditions has constrained the development of multi-trophic communities, and species richness and distribution is thought to be driven primarily by abiotic factors. Sites in northern and southern Victoria Land were sampled for bacterial community structure and soil physicochemical properties in conjunction with the US and New Zealand Latitudinal Gradient Project. Bacterial community structure was determined using a high-resolution molecular fingerprinting method for 80 soil samples from Taylor Valley and Cape Hallett sites which are separated by five degrees of latitude and have distinct soil chemistry. Taylor Valley is part of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, while Cape Hallett is the site of a penguin rookery and contains ornithogenic soils. The influence of soil moisture, pH, conductivity, ammonia, nitrate, total nitrogen and organic carbon on community structure was revealed using Spearman rank correlation, Mantel test, and principal components analysis. High spatial variability was detected in bacterial communities and community structure was correlated with soil moisture and pH. Both unique and shared bacterial community members were detected at Taylor Valley and Cape Hallett despite the considerable distance between the sites.
Summertime boundary layer winds over the Darwin–Hatherton glacial system, Antarctica: observed features and numerical analysis
Authors: Zawar-Reza Peyman , George Steve , Storey Bryan , Lawson Wendy
Published: December 2010

Three temporary Automatic Weather Stations measured summertime surface layer climate over the Darwin–Hatherton Glacial system. These data were used to test a Polar optimized Weather Research and Forecasting model (Polar-WRF) simulation for December as a case study. Observations show differences in hourly averaged solar and net all-wave radiation between white ice and blue ice areas (BIAs). Although the down-welling solar radiation is higher over the white ice region, the net all-wave energy is higher over the BIA. Derived albedo for each surface type confirms that the blue ice areas have lower albedo. Also, the hourly averaged temperatures are higher at lower elevation stations, creating a gradient towards the Ross Ice Shelf. Analysis shows that there is a diurnal oscillation in strength and intensity of the katabatic wind. The two lower stations register a distinct reversal of wind direction in the early afternoon due to intrusion of an anabatic circulation. Anabatic winds are not prevalent further up the Darwin Glacier. A high-resolution Polar-WRF simulation as a case study shows good agreement with observations. The December 2008 case study is characterized by a strong south-westerly katabatic wind over Hatherton, whereas the flow over Lower Darwin was diurnally reversing. Polar-WRF shows that the katabatic front advanced and retreated periodically between Hatherton and Lower Darwin.
The environmental basis of ecosystem variability in Antarctica: research in the Latitudinal Gradient Project
Authors: Howard-Williams Clive , Hawes Ian , Gordon Shulamit
Published: December 2010

After a decade of research, New Zealand’s Latitudinal Gradient Project (LGP) now includes primary sites from Cape Hallett (72°S) to the Darwin Glacier (80°S), while additional observations extend the latitudinal transect from 84°S to sub-Antarctic regions. The LGP has been structured around a hypothesis that, in a frigid continent, ice dynamics is the key ecosystem variable. For terrestrial environments, two aspects of ice dynamics appear to underlie much of the observed variability. Firstly, the aridity of the region makes the transition from ice to water a key ecological factor, and secondly, the legacy of ice dynamics dating as far back as the Pliocene is imprinted on biogeography. These factors operate at difference temporal and spatial scales and neither is monotonically related to latitude. Both are also complicated by meso-scale cross gradients of altitude and distance from the sea and micro-scale local variability. Whilst climate does vary on a broad-scale, differences within the northern and central parts of Victoria Land that the LGP has so far examined are insufficient to impose any overarching effect that can overwhelm these more local effects. The result is a multiple-scale patchwork of habitats and communities, more or less replicated across the transect, in which variability at any given latitude generally exceeds variability between latitudes. A lesser quantum of research has been directed at marine ecosystems, but here there is a similar picture of local variability dominating within the Ross Sea, with significant latitude-scale effects only emerging when transects are extended into maritime- and sub-Antarctic regions. It is implicit, but not specifically recognized in the LGP context, that a further confounding effect on the interpretation of ‘transect’ information is the multiple stressor concept that requires a simultaneous analysis of interacting (synergistic or antagonistic) factors and environmental responses. As the LGP continues to extend further south, climate is expected to become more extreme, and water availability may change sufficiently for loss of habitat and species diversity to occur. Here we discuss options for refining the LGP approach to optimize its potential for understanding variability, and the factors underpinning this, in the Ross Sea Sector.
The Dual BKR Inequality and Rudich's Conjecture
Authors: KAHN JEFF , SAKS MICHAEL , SMYTH CLIFFORD
Published: December 2010

Let be a set of terms over an arbitrary (but finite) number of Boolean variables. Let U() be the set of truth assignments that satisfy exactly one term in . Motivated by questions in computational complexity, Rudich conjectured that there exist ∊, δ > 0 such that, if is any set of terms for which U() contains at least a (1−∊)-fraction of all truth assignments, then there exists a term t ∈ such that at least a δ-fraction of assignments satisfy some term of sharing a variable with t [8].

We prove a stronger version: for any independent assignment of the variables (not necessarily the uniform one), if the measure of U() is at least 1 − ∊, there exists a t ∈ such that the measure of the set of assignments satisfying either t or some term incompatible with t (i.e., having no satisfying assignments in common with t) is at least $\Gd = 1- \Ge - \frac{4\Ge}{1-\Ge}$. (A key part of the proof is a correlation-like inequality on events in a finite product probability space that is in some sense dual to Reimer's inequality [11], a.k.a. the BKR inequality [5], or the van den Berg–Kesten conjecture [3].)
CHROMOSOMAL MICROARRAYS: THE BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF INTRODUCTION INTO PRENATAL DIAGNOSIS
Authors: SHAFFER LISA G , CHITAYAT DAVID
Published: December 2010

Invasive prenatal testing, amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling, has been used for over four decades to identify fetal genetic disorders. The most common test after obtaining fetal tissues is chromosome analysis, performed for a variety of medical indications including abnormal ultrasound findings, advanced maternal age and an abnormal screen for Down syndrome. About 2% of pregnancies in women over the age of 35 will show a chromosome abnormality, with trisomy 21 being the most common. In addition to Down syndrome, the most commonly observed trisomies are those of chromosomes 13 and 18. Numerical abnormalities of the sex chromosomes are also relatively common, as well as triploidy.
The Mediating Roles of Disgust Sensitivity and Danger Expectancy in Relation to Hand Washing Behaviour
Authors: Thorpe Susan J. , Barnett Julie , Friend Katy , Nottingham Kate
Published: December 2010

Background: Recent interest in the role of vulnerability factors in obsessional washing has suggested that disgust sensitivity, danger expectancy and health anxiety may be of interest. Aims: This study explores the differential impact of these factors on both behavioural and cognitive measures of washing behaviour and is based on a replication of the Jones and Menzies (1997) experiment, during which participants immersed their hands in a noxious compound while rating themselves on a range of measures: the time they subsequently took to wash their hands was measured and danger expectancies were found to be the best predictor of this. Method: The present study added measures of disgust sensitivity and health anxiety to this experimental methodology while removing factors they found to be of little import to compulsive washing. Thirty non-clinical participants took part. Results: Results confirmed that disgust sensitivity was related to the behavioural measure of washing time, but that this relationship was almost entirely mediated by the danger expectancy concerning judgements of severity of consequent disease. However, a different pattern emerged when the outcome measure was questionnaire based: danger expectancy was not at all related to this. Disgust sensitivity mediated the relationship between health anxiety and scores on a questionnaire measure of washing compulsions. Interestingly, these scores were not related to the behavioural measure of washing time. Conclusions: The implications of these relationships to the further development of subtypes of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) are discussed.
Criterion Validity of the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) Fluency Subtests After Traumatic Brain Injury
Authors: Strong Carrie-Ann H. , Tiesma David , Donders Jacobus
Published: December 2010

The performance of 65 patients with complicated mild–severe traumatic brain injury was evaluated on the Verbal and Design Fluency subtests of the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS), and compared with that of 65 demographically matched healthy controls. There were statistically significant group differences on Letter Fluency and Category Switching but not on any of the Design Fluency tasks. Combined, these two Verbal Fluency subtests had a classification accuracy of 65.39%, associated with a likelihood ratio of 1.87. The impact of length of coma on Letter Fluency performance but not Category Switching was mediated at least in part by processing speed. The findings suggest modest criterion validity of some of the D–KEFS Verbal Fluency subtests in the assessment of patients with complicated mild–severe traumatic brain injury. (JINS, 2011, 17, 230–237)
Grammatical gender processing in L2: Electrophysiological evidence of the effect of L1–L2 syntactic similarity
Authors: FOUCART ALICE , FRENCK-MESTRE CHERYL
Published: December 2010

This study examines the effect of proficiency and similarity between the first and the second language on grammatical gender processing in L2. In three experiments, we manipulated gender agreement violations within the determiner phrase (DP), between the determiner and the noun (Experiment 1), the postposed adjective and the noun (Experiment 2) and the preposed adjective and the noun (Experiment 3). We compared the performance of German advanced learners of French to that of French native controls. The results showed a similar P600 effect for native and non-native speakers for agreement violations when agreement rules where similar in L1 and L2 (Experiment 1, depending on proficiency), whereas no effect was found for L2 learners when agreement rules varied across languages. These results suggest that syntactic processing in L2 is affected by the similarity of syntactic rules in L1 and L2.
Is astrocyte calcium signaling relevant for synaptic plasticity?
Authors: Ben Achour Sarrah , Pont-Lezica Lorena , Béchade Catherine , Pascual Olivier
Published: December 2010

Astrocytes constitute a major group of glial cells which were long regarded as passive elements, fulfilling nutritive and structural functions for neurons. Calcium rise in astrocytes propagating to neurons was the first demonstration of direct interaction between the two cell types. Since then, calcium has been widely used, not only as an indicator of astrocytic activity but also as a stimulator switch to control astrocyte physiology. As a result, astrocytes have been elevated from auxiliaries to neurons, to cells involved in processing synaptic information. Curiously, while there is evidence that astrocytes play an important role in synaptic plasticity, the data relating to calcium's pivotal role are inconsistent. In this review, we will detail the various mechanisms of calcium flux in astrocytes, then briefly present the calcium-dependent mechanisms of gliotransmitter release. Finally, we will discuss the role of calcium in plasticity and present alternative explanations that could reconcile the conflicting results published recently.
Preferred providers and the credible commitment problem in health insurance: first experiences with the implementation of managed competition in the Dutch health care system
Authors: Boonen Lieke H. H. M. , Schut Frederik T.
Published: December 2010

We investigate the impact of the transition towards managed competition in the Dutch health care system on health insurers’ contracting behaviour. Specifically, we examine whether insurers have been able to take up their role as prudent buyers of care and examine consumers’ attitudes towards insurers’ new role. Health insurers’ contracting behaviour is investigated by an extensive analysis of available information on purchasing practices by health insurers and by interviews with directors of health care purchasing of the four major health insurers, accounting for 90% of the market. Consumer attitudes towards insurers’ new role are investigated by surveys among a representative sample of enrollees over the period 2005–2009. During the first four years of the reform, health insurers were very reluctant to engage in selective contracting and preferred to use ‘soft’ positive incentives to encourage preferred provider choice rather than engaging in restrictive managed care activities. Consumer attitudes towards channelling vary considerably by type of provider but generally became more negative in the first two years after the reform. Insurers’ reluctance to use selective contracting can be at least partly explained by the presence of a credible-commitment problem. Consumers do not trust that insurers with restrictive networks are committed to provide good quality care. The credible-commitment problem seems to be particularly relevant to the Netherlands, since Dutch enrollees are not used to restrictions on provider choice. Since consumers are quite sensitive to differences in provider quality, more reliable information about provider quality is required to reduce the credible-commitment problem.
Effects of Linguistic Abstractness in the Mass Media
Authors: Geschke Daniel , Sassenberg Kai , Ruhrmann Georg , Sommer Denise
Published: December 2010

Media coverage contributes to the perpetuation of stereotypes and prejudice. So far, research has focused on biased content rather than style in reporting about minorities. One such stylistic dimension is the so-called linguistic intergroup bias: The tendency to describe positive behavior of members of one’s own group and negative behavior of other groups’ members in a more abstract way (compared to the same behavior of the respective other group). Recipients of communication biased in this way judge the described individuals in line with abstract descriptions (i.e., own-group members more positively than members of other groups). The current study demonstrates that linguistically biased news reports about minorities lead to higher levels of prejudice. Hence, media coverage does not only affect attitudes about minorities by what is reported, but also by how it is presented.
The Role of Individual Differences in Cognitive Skills in Children’s Learning Through Film
Authors: Michel Eva
Published: December 2010

This study examines the role of individual differences in cognitive skills in children’s learning through educational films. A total of 40 children, half of them aged 6, the other half 8, were shown a film about sugar production. After one week, the children took part in a memory test on the film’s content with free recall, cued recall, and recognition. In a second session, four working memory and attention tasks were administered. Results reveal that individual differences in domain-specific working memory skills account for substantial variance in the learning outcome, whereas children’s age was no significant predictor. Findings are discussed in terms of cognitive processes underlying learning through films.
Sounding Out Small Screens and Telepresence
Authors: Bracken Cheryl Campanella , Pettey Gary , Guha Trupti , Rubenking Bridget E.
Published: December 2010

The number of small and mobile screens being used for entertainment is growing daily. This paper presents the findings of the impact of smaller video format (specifically the Apple iPod), media content, and sound delivery on audience responses. The 2 × 2 × 2 experimental design varied screen size, content, and sound delivery. Participants were exposed to one of two presentations either on an iPod or on a 32 inch (81.2 centimeters) television with sound being supplied by either speakers or a headset. Participants saw either a 10-minute fast-paced (multiple cut) action sequence or a 10-minute slow-paced (long cut) conversation sequence from a feature length motion picture. The effects of differences in immersion, spatial presence, and social realism were measured. Screen size impacted reported sensations of spatial presence with subjects who viewed larger screens reporting higher levels. Subjects with headphone delivery reported higher levels of immersion than subjects with speaker delivery. Furthermore, several interactions between screen size, content pace, and sound delivery were found.
Coulomb stress interactions amongM≥ 5.9 earthquakes in the Gorda deformation zone and on the Mendocino Fault Zone, Cascadia subduction zone, and northern San Andreas Fault
Authors: Rollins John C. , Stein Ross S.
Published: December 2010

The Gorda deformation zone, a 50,000 km2area of diffuse shear and rotation offshore northernmost California, has been the site of 20M≥ 5.9 earthquakes on four different fault orientations since 1976, including fourM≥ 7 shocks. This is the highest rate of large earthquakes in the contiguous United States. We calculate that the source faults of six recentM≥ 5.9 earthquakes had experienced ≥0.6 bar Coulomb stress increases imparted by earthquakes that struck less than 9 months beforehand. Control tests indicate that ≥0.6 bar Coulomb stress interactions betweenM≥ 5.9 earthquakes separated by <9 months are unlikely to occur by random chance, suggesting that the multiple short‐term stress interactions observed among the recent Gorda zone earthquakes are not an apparent effect. In all well‐constrained ≥0.2 bar Coulomb stress interactions between earthquakes that occurred within 4 years of each other, the second earthquake is promoted. On longer timescales, calculated stress changes imparted by the 1980Mw= 7.3 Trinidad earthquake are consistent with the locations ofM≥ 5.9 earthquakes in the Gorda zone until at least 1995, as well as earthquakes on the Mendocino Fault Zone in 1994 and 2000. Coulomb stress changes imparted by the 1980 earthquake are also consistent with its distinct elbow‐shaped aftershock pattern. From these observations, we derive generalized static stress interactions among right‐lateral, left‐lateral and thrust faults near triple junctions.
Gravity measurements in southeastern Alaska reveal negative gravity rate of change caused by glacial isostatic adjustment
Authors: Sun W. , Miura S. , Sato T. , Sugano T. , Freymueller J. , Kaufman M. , Larsen C. F. , Cross R. , Inazu D.
Published: December 2010

For the past 300 years, southeastern Alaska has undergone rapid ice‐melting and land uplift attributable to global warming. Corresponding crustal deformation (3 cm/yr) caused by the Little Ice Age retreat is detectable with modern geodetic techniques such as GPS and tidal gauge measurements. Geodetic deformation provides useful information for assessing ice‐melting rates, global warming effects, and subcrustal viscosity. Nevertheless, integrated geodetic observations, including gravity measurements, are important. To detect crustal deformation caused by glacial isostatic adjustment and to elucidate the viscosity structure in southeastern Alaska, Japanese and U.S. researchers began a joint 3‐year project in 2006 using GPS, Earth tide, and absolute gravity measurements. A new absolute gravity network was established, comprising five sites around Glacier Bay, near Juneau, Alaska. This paper reports the network's gravity measurements during 2006–2008. The bad ocean model in this area hindered ocean loading correction: Large tidal residuals remain in the observations. Accurate tidal correction necessitated on‐site tidal observation. Results show high observation precision for all five stations: <1 μGal. The gravity rate of change was found to be −3.5 to −5.6 μGal/yr in the gravity network. Furthermore, gravity results obtained during the 3 years indicate a similar gravity change rate. These gravity data are anticipated for application in geophysical studies of southeastern Alaska. Using gravity and vertical displacement data, we constructed a quantity to remove viscoelastic effects. The observations are thus useful to constrain present‐day ice thickness changes. A gravity bias of about −13.2 ± 0.1 mGal exists between the Potsdam and current FG5 gravity data.
Coupling of surge and waves for an Ivan‐like hurricane impacting the Tampa Bay, Florida region
Authors: Huang Yong , Weisberg Robert H. , Zheng Lianyuan
Published: December 2010

The interactions between waves and storm surge are investigated using an unstructured grid, coupled wave‐surge model forced by a hypothetical Ivan‐like hurricane impacting the Tampa Bay, Florida region. The waves derived from the unstructured version of the third‐generation wave model simulating waves nearshore. The surge derives from the unstructured Finite‐Volume Coastal Ocean Model, to which wave‐induced forces (based on radiation stress theory) are added to the traditional forces by winds and atmospheric pressure. Dependent upon complex bathymetry and geometry, the wave‐induced forces result in an additional 0.3∼0.5 m of surge relative to an uncoupled, surge‐only simulation, and the increase in coastal sea level by the storm surge adds some 1.0∼1.5 m to the significant wave heights nearshore. Such strong interactions through coupling suggest that waves should not be omitted in hurricane storm surge simulations, especially because the forces by waves on coastal structures are perhaps the most damaging of the hurricane related forces.
Black carbon in a continental semi‐arid area of Northeast China and its possible sources of fire emission
Authors: Cheng Tiantao , Han Zhiwei , Zhang Renjian , Du Huanhuan , Jia Xuan , Wang Jingjing , Yao Jiayun
Published: December 2010

Surface continuous measurements on black carbon (BC) were performed at Tongyu (44.42°N, 122.87°E) from March to December 2008. Tongyu is an international reference site of semi‐arid climate and environment researches, located in a continental semi‐arid area of northeastern China. Mass concentrations and potential contributing sources of BC are discussed for the sampling site. Hourly BC concentrations ranged from 77.61 ng m−3 to 59.55 μg m−3 with an average of 2.52 μg m−3, showing a clear seasonal pattern with high values in spring, fall, and winter and low values in summer. Events of high BC concentrations occurred frequently in spring as a result of long‐range transport of polluted air masses from the north, northwest, and south in the atmosphere over the Asian continent. The Yangtse River Delta (YRD) and China Anhui Province, the North China Plain (NCP), Northeast China, the Mongolian boundary near China and Russia, Middle Asia, and some areas of Russian Far East were major potential contribution sources for the observed pollutants. The region between Jiangsu Province and Anhui Province of China and the boundary regions between China and Russian Primorskiy and Khabarovskiy were possible source areas of fire emissions having great contributions to high BC levels at Tongyu. The region between Jiangsu Province and Anhui Province of China was the most important anthropogenic fire source of agricultural residue burning outflows.
An extraordinary episode of Yellowstone caldera uplift, 2004–2010, from GPS and InSAR observations
Authors: Chang Wu‐Lung , Smith Robert B. , Farrell Jamie , Puskas Christine M.
Published: December 2010

Geodetic measurements of Yellowstone ground deformation from 2006 to June 2010 reveal deceleration of the recent uplift of the Yellowstone caldera following an unprecedented period of uplift that began in 2004. In 2006–2008 uplift rates decreased from 7 to 5 cm/yr and 4 to 2 cm/yr in the northern and southwest caldera, respectively, and in 2009 rates further reduced to 2 cm/yr and 0.5 cm/yr in the same areas. Elastic‐dislocation modeling of the deformation data robustly indicates an expanding sill at ∼7–10 km depth near the top of a seismically imaged, crystallizing magma reservoir, with a 60% decrease in the volumetric expansion rate between 2006 and 2009. Reduction of hydrothermal‐volcanic recharge from beneath the northeast caldera and seismic moment release of the 2008 and 2010 large earthquake swarms are plausible mechanisms for decelerating the caldera uplift and may have influenced the change in recent caldera motion from uplift to subsidence.
Dilatant strengthening as a mechanism for slow slip events
Authors: Segall Paul , Rubin Allan M. , Bradley Andrew M. , Rice James R.
Published: December 2010

The mechanics of slow slip events (SSE) in subduction zones remain unresolved. We suggest that SSE nucleate in areas of unstable friction under drained conditions, but as slip accelerates dilatancy reduces pore pressure p quenching instability. Competition between dilatant strengthening and thermal pressurization may control whether slip is slow or fast. We model SSE with 2‐D elasticity, rate‐state friction, and a dilatancy law where porosity evolves toward steady state ss over distance dc and ss = 0 + ln(v/v0); v is slip speed. We consider two diffusion models. Membrane diffusion (MD) is approximated by −(p − p∞)/tf where p and p∞ are shear zone and remote pore pressure and tf is a characteristic diffusion time. Homogeneous diffusion (HD) accurately models fault‐normal flow with diffusivity chyd. For MD, linearized analysis defines a boundary ℰ = 1 − a/b between slow and fast slip, where ℰ ≡ f0ε/βb(σ − p∞), f0, a, and b are friction parameters and β is compressibility. When ℰ < 1 − a/b slip accelerates to instability for sufficiently large faults, whereas for ℰ > 1 − a/b slip speeds remain quasi‐static. For HD, Ep ≡ εh/(β (σ − p∞)) defines dilatancy efficiency, where h is shear zone thickness and v∞ is plate velocity. SSE are favored by large εh and low effective stress. The ratio Ep to thermal pressurization efficiency scales with 1/(σ − p∞), so high p∞ favors SSE, consistent with seismic observations. For Ep ∼ 10−3 transient slip rates, repeat times, average slip, and stress drops are comparable to field observations. Model updip propagation speeds are comparable to those observed along‐strike. Many simulations exhibit slow phases driven by steady downdip slip and faster phases that relax the accumulated stress. Model SSE accommodate only a fraction of plate motion; the remaining deficit must be accommodated during coseismic or postseismic slip.
Measurement of streaming potential coupling coefficient in sandstones saturated with natural and artificial brines at high salinity
Authors: Vinogradov J. , Jaafar M. Z. , Jackson M. D.
Published: December 2010

We report experimental measurements of the streaming potential coupling coefficient in sandstones saturated with NaCl‐dominated artificial and natural brines up to 5.5 M (321.4 g L−1 of NaCl; electrical conductivity of 23 S m−1). We find that the magnitude of the coupling coefficient decreases with increasing brine salinity, as observed in previous experimental studies and predicted by models of the electrical double layer. However, the magnitude of the coupling coefficient remains greater than zero up to the saturated brine salinity. The magnitude of the zeta potential we interpret from our measurements also decreases with increasing brine salinity in the low‐salinity domain (<0.4 M; 23.4 g L−1 of NaCl and 3.4 S m−1) but reaches a constant value at higher salinity (>0.4 M). We hypothesize that the constant value of zeta potential observed at high salinity reflects the maximum packing of counterions in the diffuse part of the electrical double layer. Our hypothesis predicts that the zeta potential becomes independent of brine salinity when the diffuse layer thickness is similar to the diameter of the hydrated counterion. This prediction is confirmed by our experimental data and also by published measurements on alumina in KCl brine. At high salinity (>0.4 M), values of the streaming potential coupling coefficient and the corresponding zeta potential are the same within experimental error regardless of sample mineralogy and texture and the composition of the brine.
Breathing of a coral cay: Tracing tidally driven seawater recirculation in permeable coral reef sediments
Authors: Santos Isaac R. , Erler Dirk , Tait Douglas , Eyre Bradley D.
Published: December 2010

Coral reefs are characterized by high gross productivity in spite of low nutrient concentrations. This apparent paradox may be partially reconciled if seawater recirculation in permeable sediments over large (meters) and long (hours to days) scales is an important source of recycled nitrogen and phosphorus to coral reefs. In this paper we use radon (222Rn, a natural tracer) to quantify tidally driven pore water (or groundwater) exchange between (1) an offshore coral cay island and its fringing reef lagoon and (2) a reef lagoon and the surrounding ocean. As seawater infiltrates Heron Island at high tide, it acquires a radon signal that can be detected when pore waters emerge from carbonate sands at low tide. A nonsteady state model indicated that vertical pore water upwelling rates (or saline submarine groundwater discharge) were >40 cm/d within the reef lagoon and >100 cm/d outside the lagoon at low tide. Within the lagoon, tidal pumping and temperature‐driven convection were the main driving forces of pore water advection. At low tide, the reef lagoon level is about 1 m higher than the surrounding ocean. As a result, a steep hydraulic gradient develops at the reef edge, driving unidirectional filtration through the reef framework. Groundwaters were highly enriched in nitrate (average of 530 μmol, likely influenced by bird guano) relative to lagoon waters (1.9 μmol). Rough but conservative estimates indicated that groundwater‐derived nitrate fluxes (7.9 mmol/m2/d) can replace the entire lagoon nitrate inventory every <19 days. We speculate that as offshore coral islands “breath” (inhale seawater at high tide and exhale groundwater at low tide), they release nutrients that lead to sustained productivity within coral reefs.
Measurements of gas‐phase inorganic and organic acids from biomass fires by negative‐ion proton‐transfer chemical‐ionization mass spectrometry
Authors: Veres Patrick , Roberts James M. , Burling Ian R. , Warneke Carsten , de Gouw Joost , Yokelson Robert J.
Published: December 2010

Emissions from 34 laboratory biomass fires were investigated at the combustion facility of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, Montana. Gas‐phase organic and inorganic acids were quantified using negative‐ion proton‐transfer chemical‐ionization mass spectrometry (NI‐PT‐CIMS), open‐path Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (OP‐FTIR), and proton‐transfer‐reaction mass spectrometry (PTR‐MS). NI‐PT‐CIMS is a novel technique that measures the mass‐to‐charge ratio (m/z) of ions generated from reactions of acetate (CH3C(O)O−) ions with inorganic and organic acids. The emission ratios for various important reactive acids with respect to CO were determined. Emission ratios for isocyanic acid (HNCO), 1,2 and 1,3‐benzenediols (catechol, resorcinol), nitrous acid (HONO), acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, propionic acid, formic acid, pyruvic acid, and glycolic acid were measured from biomass burning. Our measurements show that there is a significant amount of HONO in fresh smoke. The NI‐PT‐CIMS measurements were validated by comparison with OP‐FTIR measurements of HONO and formic acid (HCOOH) and with PTR‐MS measurements of HCOOH.