bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Trying to do my best as a mother: Decision‐making in families of children undergoing elective surgical treatment for short stature
Authors: Daniel Emma , Kent Gerry , Binney Val , Pagdin Jonathan
Published: March 2005

Objectives. To explore how families make decisions about elective leg‐lengthening surgical treatment.

Design. Interviews were conducted and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, 1995).

Methods. Data were gathered using semi‐structured interviews with nine mothers of children who had recently decided to undergo treatment.

Results. Overall, the decision process was guided by the mothers' central concern to act responsibly as a parent. Thematic analysis indicated that the decision was taken in a social context where short stature could lead to discrimination and disability. The decision‐making process evolved gradually over several years as mothers and children gathered information about treatment. While mothers emphasized that ultimately it was their child's decision, they monitored the decision process and filtered the information available in an attempt to ensure that the child made a well‐informed and wise choice.

Conclusions. The decision was presented as an ongoing process by the mothers, their concerns representing their desire to do their best as parents for their children. Theoretically, the mothers' description of the process can be understood in terms of their attempts to resolve an ethical dilemma. Clinical implications include recognition of the role of the psychologist in supporting mothers in their decision making and thus indirectly helping children.
The impact of job strain on the predictive validity of the theory of planned behaviour: An investigation of exercise and healthy eating
Authors: Payne Nicola , Jones Fiona , Harris Peter R.
Published: March 2005

Objectives. This study examined the impact of the job strain model on exercise and healthy eating within the framework of the Theory of Planned Behaviour.

Design. Participants completed a questionnaire measuring the components of the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the job strain model. A follow‐up questionnaire a week later measured behaviour.

Method. The questionnaires were completed by e‐mail. The initial questionnaire was completed by 331 employees, and 286 follow‐up questionnaires were returned.

Results. Job demands affected exercise indirectly by lowering perceptions of behavioural control over exercise. However, variables from the job strain model were not related to exercise intentions or behaviour. In contrast, employees in passive jobs intended to eat more sweets and snack foods and employees in low strain jobs were more likely to realize their intentions to eat more sweets and snack foods. However, variables from the job strain model did not influence consumption of fruit and vegetables.

Conclusions. While people may consider the impact of job strain on exercise whilst making decisions about whether or not to exercise, job strain has a more direct impact on healthy eating. However, job strain may only affect consumption of so‐called ‘high density’ foods, rather than foods such as fruit and vegetables.
Intense‐personal celebrity worship and body image: Evidence of a link among female adolescents
Authors: Maltby John , Giles David C. , Barber Louise , McCutcheon Lynn E.
Published: March 2005

Objectives. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between celebrity worship and body image within the theoretical perspective of intense para‐social relationships with celebrities.

Design. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relationships between celebrity worship and body image.

Method. Three samples, 229 (102 males and 127 females) adolescents, 183 (88 males and 95 females) full‐time university undergraduate students, and 289 (126 males and 163 females) adults were administered an amended version of the Celebrity Attitude Scale, the Attention to Body Shape Scale, and the Body Shape Questionnaire –Revised.

Results. Significant relationships were found between attitudes toward celebrities and body image only among female adolescents. Multiple regression analyses suggested that Intense‐personal celebrity worship accounted for unique variance in scores in body image.

Conclusions. Findings suggest that in female adolescents, there is an interaction between Intense‐personal celebrity worship and body image between the ages of 14 and 16 years, and some tentative evidence has been found to suggest that this relationship disappears at the onset of adulthood, 17 to 20 years. Results are consistent with those authors who stress the importance of the formation of para‐social relationships with media figures, and suggest that para‐social relationships with celebrities perceived as having a good body shape may lead to a poor body image in female adolescents.
Optimism, coping style and emotional well‐being in cardiac patients
Authors: Bedi Gillinder , Brown Stephen L.
Published: March 2005

Objective. Optimism is associated with superior emotional well‐being in people with chronic and acute health problems, possibly because optimists are more likely to implement problem‐focused coping. Another interpretation posits that optimism can be a defensive response designed to diminish affective reactions to health problems. The study objective is to investigate this possibility.

Design. A cross‐sectional examination of relationships between dispositional and relative optimism, threat avoidance and emotional well‐being in 85 cardiac patients.

Results. Blunting, a measure of threat avoidance, was found to be associated with both optimism and emotional well‐being, and the common variance was predictive of positive affect. As expected, this link was stronger in people with low self‐efficacy for problem‐focused coping.

Conclusion. These findings support a defensive interpretation of optimism amongst patients with recently‐experienced cardiac disease, particularly as the effect was more pronounced in the low self‐efficacy subsample. We discuss possible explanations for these findings and implications for the study of coping with serious illness.
Solubilities in supercritical fluids
Authors: Knox Dana E.
Published: March 2005

Solubilities in supercritical fluids are of great importance in a wide variety of applications. These applications include: production of controlled drug delivery systems, powder processing, pollution prevention and remediation, methods for spraying paints and coatings, precipitation/crystallization processes, bioseparations, and food processing. Examples of some of these applications will be given.

Supercritical fluid processes make use of the significant variation of solubility with pressure when the solvent is a supercritical fluid. This permits the accomplishment of many processes that would be otherwise very difficult to achieve. To fully understand the benefits of such processes, one must understand the phase behavior of such systems. The types of phase behavior that can be observed will be discussed, along with the ways that this behavior can be used to modify solubilities in such fluids.

There have been many methods proposed for the experimental determination of solubilities in supercritical fluids. These will be reviewed in general, and recommendations for preferred methods given.

Solubilities in supercritical fluids can be correlated and predicted by making use of thermodynamic calculations involving equations of state, as well as by other methods. The various methods will be reviewed, and recommendations given for various applications.
Modeling electrolyte solutions with the extended universal quasichemical (UNIQUAC) model
Authors: Thomsen Kaj
Published: March 2005

The extended universal quasichemical (UNIQUAC) model is a thermodynamic model for solutions containing electrolytes and nonelectrolytes. The model is a Gibbs excess function consisting of a Debye–Hückel term and a standard UNIQUAC term. The model only requires binary ion-specific interaction parameters. A unique choice of standard states makes the model able to reproduce solid–liquid, vapor–liquid, and liquid–liquid phase equilibria as well as thermal properties of electrolyte solutions using one set of parameters.
Solutions in the “big laboratory”: Toward a model for metals at the Earth’s surface
Authors: Williams Peter A.
Published: March 2005

Numerous factors control the chemistry of metal ions in natural aqueous systems. These include the presence of a host of complexing agents, speciation among a variety of competing ligands, buffering due to precipitated solid phases, and the relative influences of kinetic versus thermodynamic phenomena. Natural aqueous systems are inevitably complicated, but simple, inorganic models can be constructed to characterize a variety of different environments. While available data sets for these models are large, it is clear that much further research is required in order to develop more sophisticated models. Some of the fields of research that need to be addressed are outlined, and some of the constraints on such research are briefly discussed.
Diagnostic Performance of Quantitative κ and λ Free Light Chain Assays in Clinical Practice
Authors: Katzmann Jerry A , Abraham Roshini S , Dispenzieri Angela , Lust John A , Kyle Robert A
Published: March 2005

Background: The quantitative assay for free light chains (FLCs) is a recently introduced commercial test reported to be sensitive and specific for detecting FLC diseases such as primary systemic amyloidosis (AL), light chain deposition disease (LCDD), nonsecretory multiple myeloma (NSMM), and light chain multiple myeloma. We evaluated its diagnostic performance in clinical practice.

Methods: All FLC clinical test results generated in 2003 were abstracted from the Laboratory Information System. Diagnoses were obtained from the Dysproteinemia database and the patient medical history.

Results: In 2003, we received samples for FLC assays from 1020 Mayo Clinic patients. The majority of these patients (88%) had bone marrow-derived monoclonal plasma cell disorders (PCDs). The 121 patients who did not have monoclonal gammopathy all had FLC κ/λ ratios within the range of values obtained for a reference population in our laboratory. Among the patients with monoclonal gammopathies were patients with multiple myeloma (330), AL (269), monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (114), smoldering multiple myeloma (72), plasmacytoma (22), NSMM (20), macroglobulinemia (9), LCDD (7), and a variety of other PCDs. Among the 110 AL patients who had not been previously treated and who had a FLC assay performed within 120 days of diagnosis, the FLC κ/λ ratio was positive in 91% compared with 69% for serum immunofixation electrophoresis (IFE) and 83% for urine IFE. The combination of serum IFE and serum FLC assay detected an abnormal result in 99% (109 of 110) of patients with AL.

Conclusion: The performance of the FLC assay in this analysis of clinical laboratory data is consistent with results from published retrospective validation studies.
Nomenclature
Authors: Powell Warren H.
Published: March 2005

Names for chemical substances have developed from terms based on their source, properties, or effects into an elaborate system in which names encode precise information about chemical structures. Nomenclature in inorganic chemistry developed first; it is primarily concerned with elemental composition and with ionic and oxidation states. Organic nomenclature at first followed the inorganic pattern, but diverged from it because of the importance of connectivity and isomerism in organic compounds. The present system of organic nomenclature is based on the principles of the Geneva Conference of 1892, developed and expanded by international conferences and commissions into the nomenclature recommended by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). The nomenclatures of inorganic, organic, and macromolecular chemistry and of biochemistry are in a continuing state of development; new recommendations from international bodies are published in appropriate journals, such asPure and Applied ChemistryandBiochemistry.Rules and recommendations are collected in book form at intervals. Computer interactions with different aspects of nomenclature that began during the later years of the twentieth century have increased enormously during the last decade.
Influence of ethylene vinyl acetate on the spinnability and mechanical properties of poly(propylene)/zeolite‐Ag blend fibers
Authors: Yan Yurong , Zhao Yaoming , Liu Minghua
Published: March 2005

The spinnability and mechanical properties of poly(propylene) (PP)/zeolite‐supported Ag+ (zeolite‐Ag)/ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) ternary blend fibers were studied. It was found that the spinning temperature of the ternary blend fibers was decreased in the presence of EVA. The addition of 2 wt % EVA substantially improved the spinnability of the blend system by enhancing its flowability. It was also found that the ternary fiber with EVA28 (28 wt % vinyl acetate content) showed balanced improvement of mechanical properties by a concomitant increase in modulus and tensile strength. The improvements of spinnability and mechanical properties suggested that a core–shell structure of zeolite‐Ag/EVA28 particles, with zeolite‐Ag as the core and EVA28 as the shell, was formed and remained during the melt‐mixing process of the blended chips and during the course of fiber processing. EVA probably enhanced the binding between the zeolite‐Ag and the PP matrix, as made evident in SEM microphotographs. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 96: 1460–1466, 2005
Plasticity of the cortical dentition representation after tooth extraction in naked mole‐rats
Authors: Henry Erin C. , Marasco Paul D. , Catania Kenneth C.
Published: March 2005

Naked mole‐rats (Heterocephalus glaber) have a large cortical representation of their behaviorally important front teeth, accounting for 30% of primary somatosensory cortex (SI). Here we investigated the plasticity of this dental representation after the extraction of a single lower tooth. The representation of the contralateral lower incisor normally accounts for ∼15% of somatosensory cortex in mole‐rats. In five mole‐rats the lower right incisor was extracted on either postnatal day 7 or 21. After 5–8 months the deprived tooth zone in S1 was investigated with multiunit microelectrode recordings. The results revealed a dramatic reorganization of the orofacial representation in SI. Neurons in the cortical lower tooth representation were responsive to tactile inputs from surrounding orofacial structures, including the contralateral upper incisor, ipsilateral lower incisor, tongue, chin, gums, and buccal pad. Neurons in the former lower tooth zone had complex receptive fields that often encompassed multiple sensory surfaces surrounding the extracted tooth in the periphery. These results suggest that the representation of the dentition in mammals is capable of significant reorganization after the loss of sensory inputs from the teeth. These data parallel findings in the somatosensory hand area of primates after deafferentation where cortex can become activated by a mixture of widely spaced surrounding sensory surfaces (e.g., chin and upper arm). J. Comp. Neurol. 485:64–74, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Evaluating the quality of hydraulic conductivity estimates from piezometer slug tests in peat
Authors: Surridge Ben W. J. , Baird Andrew J. , Heathwaite A. L.
Published: March 2005

Although widely used in wetland hydrological studies, hydraulic conductivity (K) estimates from piezometer slug tests are often of questionable validity. Frequently, this is because insufficient attention is paid to the details of the test procedure. Further, in a potentially heterogeneous and anisotropic medium such as peat, the use of slug tests is prone to error. In this paper we address some of the methodological issues surrounding piezometer slug tests in peat. We compare slug test data with laboratory determinations of vertical and horizontal K obtained using a new method. Piezometers were installed at three depths in a floodplain fen peat in Norfolk, UK. Slug tests were initiated by both slug insertion and slug withdrawal, and repeat tests were conducted to examine the robustness of our K estimates. Most of the tests displayed departures from the log‐linear model of Hvorslev, the form of departure being consistent with compressible soil behaviour. The results suggest that insertion tests gave similar results to those initiated by withdrawal. Repeat testing showed that withdrawal data, in particular, gave highly reproducible normalized responses that were independent of the initial head. Values for K estimated using the slug tests were in the range 1 × 10−4 to 1·6 × 10−3 cm s−1, which is towards the upper end of the range reported for peats generally. Laboratory tests yielded similar values of K to those obtained from the slug tests. Although the laboratory tests showed that the peat was anisotropic, the K values generated by slug testing proved relatively good estimates of both vertical and horizontal K. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Temporal changes in DNA synthesis of prothoracic gland cells during larval development and their correlation with ecdysteroidogenic activity in the silkworm, Bombyx mori
Authors: Gu Shi‐Hong , Chow Yien‐Shing
Published: March 2005

DNA synthesis in prothoracic gland cells of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, was studied immunocytochemically after in vivo labeling with 5–bromo–2'–deoxyuridine (BrdU), and its developmental changes during the 3rd, 4th, and last larval instars were examined. During the early stages of both the 3rd and 4th larval instars, a dramatic increase in the number of DNA‐synthesizing cells of the prothoracic glands was detected. However, during the latter stages of each instar, the number of DNA‐synthesizing cells greatly decreased. The determination of glandular protein content showed that dramatic increases occurred during the latter stages of each larval instar. Comparison of changes in prothoracic gland cell DNA synthesis with ecdysteroidogenic activity showed that the increase in DNA synthesis precedes ecdysteroidogenesis. The cellular mechanism underlying changes in prothoracic gland cell DNA synthesis during the last two larval instars was further analyzed by determining the in vitro DNA synthesis of the glands, their responsiveness to hemolymph growth factors, and changes in the growth‐promoting activity of hemolymph during development. It was found that both growth factors and the responsiveness of the prothoracic gland cells to growth factors from hemolymph may play roles in regulating DNA synthesis of gland cells. J. Exp. Zool. 303A:249–258, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Immunosuppression and donor age with respect to severity of HCV recurrence after liver transplantation
Authors: Samonakis Dimitrios N. , Triantos Christos K. , Thalheimer Ulrich , Quaglia Alberto , Leandro Gioacchino , Teixeira Rosângela , Papatheodoridis George V. , Sabin Caroline A. , Rolando Nancy , Davies Susan , Dhillon Amar P. , Griffiths Paul , Emery Vincent , Patch David W. , Davidson Brian R. , Rolles Keith , Burroughs Andrew K.
Published: March 2005

In HCV cirrhotic patients after liver transplantation, survival and recurrence of HCV appears to be worsening in recent years. Donor age has been suggested as a cause. However, it is not clear if early and/or late mortality is affected and whether donor age is a key factor, as opposed to changes in immunosuppression. The aim of this study was to assess impact of donor age and other factors with respect to the severity of HCV recurrence posttransplant. A consecutive series of 193 HCV cirrhotic patients were transplanted with cadaveric donors, median age 41.5 years (13–73) and median follow-up of 38 months (1–155). Donor age and other factors were examined in a univariate/multivariate model for early/late survival, as well as fibrosis (grade 4 or more, Ishak score) with regular biopsies, 370 in total, from 1 year onwards. Results of the study indicated that donor age influenced only short-term (3 months) survival, with no significant effect on survival after 3 months. Known HCC independently adversely affected survival, as did the absence of maintenance azathioprine. Severe fibrosis (stage ≥ 4) in 51 patients was related to neither donor age nor year of transplantation, but it was independently associated with combined biochemical/histological hepatitis flare (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.76-4.9) whereas maintenance steroids were protective (OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.23-0.83). In conclusion, in this cohort donor age did not influence late mortality in HCV transplanted cirrhotic patients or development of severe fibrosis, which was related to absence of maintenance steroids and a hepatitis flare. Maintenance azathioprine gave survival advantage. (Liver Transpl 2005;11:386–395.)
Preservation of the synthetic and metabolic capacity of isolated human hepatocytes by coculture with human biliary epithelial cells
Authors: Auth Marcus K.H. , Woitaschek Dirk , Beste Mechthild , Schreiter Thomas , Kim Hyun Soo , Oppermann Elsie , Joplin Ruth E. , Baumann Ulrich , Hilgard Philip , Nadalin Silvio , Markus Bernd H. , Blaheta Roman A.
Published: March 2005

Bioartificial liver support systems have demonstrated limited efficacy in compensation of liver detoxification and substitution of liver-derived factors. However, in these devices, the biological substitution of the complex liver function has been restricted to xenogeneic or transformed hepatocytes. Therefore, we have examined the long-term effect of coculturing normal human hepatocytes (HCs) with allogeneic biliary epithelial cells (BECs). We applied functional in vitro assays to examine their metabolic potential by ammonia detoxification to urea, cytochrome P450-dependent lignocaine conversion to mono-ethyl-glycine-xylidide (MEGX), and protein expression and secretion. As the liver has a pivotal role in the synthesis of coagulation factors, we measured antithrombin III (AT III), factor VII, and albumin, comparing HCs plated on collagen or inside 3-dimensional collagen gels. Over 30 days, expression and secretion of albumin and clotting factors by human HCs were augmented by culture inside collagen gel, but were also enhanced and better maintained by coculture with BECs. Higher proportions of BECs cocultured with HCs substantially increased the protein synthesis and urea production. Remarkably, the almost absent cytochrome P450 activity of HC alone after 1 week could be reversed and maintained over 3 weeks by coculture with BECs. The pattern of these effects differed from the extent of interleukin-6 (IL-6) production and HC viability under the compared conditions. In conclusion, coculture of human HCs with BECs impressively restores the synthetic and metabolic liver function in vitro. These results suggest mechanisms of improved liver epithelial differentiation supported by coculture conditions. This technique offers new perspectives in bioartificial liver support, hepatocyte transplantation, and stem cell differentiation. (Liver Transpl 2005;11:410–419.)
Aktuelle Entwicklungen bei Schichtsystemen für die Trockenbearbeitung. Recent developments in coating systems for dry machining
Authors: Holland‐Letz Klaus
Published: March 2005

Die Trockenbearbeitung, d. h. die Bearbeitung ohne bzw. mit Minimalmengen an Kühlschmierstoffen hat sich in den letzten Jahren, auch unter dem Eindruck eines Bewusstseinswandels in der Gesellschaft und verschärfter Umweltauflagen zu einer ökologischen und ökonomischen Alternative herkömmlicher Fertigungsverfahren entwickelt. Eine wesentliche Rolle in der Umsetzung dieser Technologie spielt dabei die Temperaturbeständigkeit der Werkzeugwerkstoffe.

Mit einer Vielzahl neu entwickelter Hartstoffschichten wird versucht, die Warmfestigkeit der Werkzeugschneiden wesentlich zu erhöhen unter Beibehaltung der Härte. Neueste Entwicklungen auf dem Schichtsektor wie die Supernitride und Nanokompositschichten weisen insbesondere für die Trockenbearbeitung beträchtliche Potenziale auf.
LEEM – ein vielseitiges Werkzeug in der Nanotechnik. LEEM – a versatile tool in Nanotechnology
Authors: Duden Thomas
Published: March 2005

Der folgende Artikel soll die Mikroskopie mit langsamen Elektronen auf einfache und anschauliche Weise vorstellen. Neben einer kurzen Beschreibung der Methode und ihrer Möglichkeiten, mit typischen Beispielen aus dem Bereich der ultradünnen Schichten, wird für den Praktiker auch auf konstruktive Aspekte bei der Auslegung des Vakuum‐ und Hochspannungssystems eingegangen. Einige Beispiele heutiger Ausführungsformen des ELMITEC LEEM‐Instrumentes demonstrieren am Ende ein derzeit verwendetes Konzept. Die angegebenen Zitate erlauben eine Vertiefung der hier nur angedeuteten Thematiken.
Cardiolipin synthase of Arabidopsis thaliana
Authors: Nowicki Marcin , Müller Frank , Frentzen Margrit
Published: March 2005

Functional expression studies in microorganisms showed that the Arabidopsis thaliana gene At4g04870 represents the cardiolipin synthase (CLS) gene encoding a hydrophobic preprotein of 38 kDa with a cleavable signal peptide for the import into mitochondria. CLS of Arabidopsis over‐expressed in Escherichia coli has an alkaline pH optimum, a strict requirement for divalent cations and a distinctly lower K
m for cytidinediphosphate‐diacylglycerol than for phosphatidylglycerol. It displayed a preference for both its substrates esterified with unsaturated acyl groups. Solubilization and purification experiments revealed that the protein requires a defined phospholipid environment, particularly the presence of cardiolipin, to acquire its catalytically active conformation.
Welfare Provision for Vulnerable Children: The Missing Role of the State
Authors: Shang Xiaoyuan , Wu Xiaoming , Wu Yue
Published: March 2005

This article examines the situation of non-governmental children's welfare institutions based on field investigation in China. The research finds that China's market-oriented reforms have created both the demand for and the resources required to meet the welfare needs of vulnerable children. The new private non-profit sector responds to the social demand of providing services to vulnerable children by mobilizing non-government resources whilst actively looking for new ways of co-operating with the state and fighting for legal status. However the Chinese state hesitates to establish formal relations with the new non-government sector owing to political or economic considerations, or the lack of necessary capacity and experience in the field. A major policy break-through is urgently needed to address the welfare needs of vulnerable children in China. The aim of this policy change must be to establish formal relations between the state and civil society and to define the regulatory role of the state in social welfare.
The Communist Takeover of Hangzhou: The Transformation of City and Cadres, 1949–1954. By JAMES Z. GAO. [Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2004. x+339 pp. ISBN 0-8248-2701-5.]
Authors: Dillon Nara
Published: March 2005

In The Communist Takeover of Hangzhou, historian James Gao provides the first book-length re-examination of the CCP's military and political conquest of China since Kenneth Lieberthal published Revolution and Tradition in Tientsin in 1980. This reappraisal comes none too soon, since there has been a revolution in the last 24 years in the quantity and quality of primary sources available on the early years of the PRC. Recently published memoirs, newly opened government archives, and interviews with former CCP cadres all contribute to Gao's richer and more nuanced portrayal of this key period in the Chinese Communist revolution.

Gao argues that the CCP's moderation in the early 1950s was not the typical cooling of utopian fervour that most revolutionaries have experienced upon seizing power. He also disagrees with scholars who have characterized the early 1950s as a sharp break from the radicalism that both preceded and followed it. Instead, Gao maintains that this period represents a strategic pause in the Chinese Communist Revolution, engineered by opportunistic Party leaders in order to consolidate their new hold on power. While this focus on the problems of regime consolidation may not be new, Gao's emphasis on the cultural aspects of this process is innovative. He argues that one of the most important facets of the Chinese Communists' consolidation of power was their effort to incorporate elements of urban elite culture into the rural revolutionary culture of the wartime base areas, and thereby transcend the limitations of their earlier political practices.
The 2003 Boumerdes, Algeria earthquake: Regional moment tensor analysis
Authors: Braunmiller Jochen , Bernardi Fabrizio
Published: March 2005

We used regional broadband seismograms to determine seismic moment tensors for the destructive May 21, 2003 Boumerdes (Algeria) Mw = 7.0 earthquake and its larger aftershocks. Fully automatic inversions using near‐real time data provided solutions for seven Mw ≥ 4.7 events within 90 minutes after event occurrence. After adding off‐line data, we manually obtained 30 solutions (Mw ≥ 3.8) from May 2003 to January 2004. All have shallow source depths (6–21 km). The median P‐axis orientation (338°) of 24 thrust and four strike‐slip events is consistent with Africa‐Eurasia plate motion (330°). The main shock hypocenter at 8–10 km depth at the coastline and its shallow southward dip (25° ± 5°) puts the fault surface trace 15–20 km offshore, consistent with documented seafloor deformation at the base of the continental slope. A main shock rupture length of about 50 km is deduced from first day aftershocks and location of strike‐slip events. The strike‐slip events probably define the western rupture end and indicate a left‐step of main convergence. Fault strike variability of thrust events suggests fault orientation changes and possibly fault segmentation.
Observations of ultra‐fine particles above a deciduous forest in Denmark
Authors: Pryor S. C. , Barthelmie R. J. , Prip H. , Sørensen L. L.
Published: March 2005

We report physical particle size distribution and chemical composition data over a Beech forest in Denmark during May and June of 2004 with a focus on four days characterized by high concentrations of ultra‐fine particles. Highest number concentrations of sub‐30 nm particles were observed when net radiation >300 W m−2 and ambient particle surface area <100 μm2 cm−3. The 10–30 nm particles show growth rates of 1.5–4.5 nm hr−1 and are comprised predominantly of ammonium, sulfate and associated water.
VHL protein‐interacting deubiquitinating enzyme 2 deubiquitinates and stabilizes HIF‐1α
Authors: Li Zaibo , Wang Dakun , Messing Edward M , Wu Guan
Published: March 2005

Hypoxia‐inducible factor (HIF)‐1α is a short‐lived protein and is ubiquitinated and degraded through the von Hippel–Lindau protein (pVHL)–E3 ubiquitin ligase pathway at normoxia. Deubiquitination, by reversing ubiquitination, has been recognized as an important regulatory step in ubiquitination‐related processes. Here, we show that pVHL‐interacting deubiquitinating enzyme 2, VDU2, but not VDU1, interacts with HIF‐1α. VDU2 can specifically deubiquitinate and stabilize HIF‐1α and, therefore, increase expression of HIF‐1α targeted genes, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). These findings suggest that ubiquitination of HIF‐1α is a dynamic process and that ubiquitinated HIF‐1α might be rescued from degradation by VDU2 through deubiquitination. Although pVHL functions as a master control for HIF‐1α stabilization, as pVHL–E3 ligase mediates the ubiquitination of both HIF‐1α and VDU2, the balance between the pVHL‐mediated ubiquitination and VDU2‐mediated deubiquitination of HIF‐1α provides another level of control for HIF‐1α stabilization.
Nitridation anisotropy in SiO2∕4H–SiC
Authors: Dhar S. , Feldman L. C. , Chang K.-C. , Cao Y. , Porter L. M. , Bentley J. , Williams J. R.
Published: March 2005

Nitrogen incorporation at the SiO2∕SiC interface due to annealing in NO is measured and shown to be a strong function of crystal face. The annealing process involves two major solid-state chemical reactions: nitrogen uptake at the interface and N loss associated with second-order oxidation. An ad hoc kinetics model explains the experimental observations of anisotropy and nitrogen saturation.
Fabrication and laser control of double-paddle silicon oscillators
Authors: Haiberger L. , Jäger D. , Schiller S.
Published: March 2005

We describe a fabrication technique for double-paddle oscillators based solely on wet etching, resulting in quality factors up to 8∙105 at room temperature and in vacuum. The quality factor achieved is the highest demonstrated so far at room temperature. The fabrication procedure, not involving any dry etching step, represents a valid and low cost alternative to the other techniques previously presented. Laser excitation and resonance frequency tuning is shown to be applicable to these resonant structures and to be a useful alternative to mechanical and electrical excitation methods used so far, especially for applications in which a remote excitation system is required (e.g., in a high-temperature environment).
Carbon nanotubes synthesized by biased thermal chemical vapor deposition as an electron source in an x-ray tube
Authors: Zhang Y. B. , Lau S. P. , Huang L. , Tanemura M.
Published: March 2005

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with supreme field emission properties were synthesized by depositing Co-containing amorphous carbon (a-C:Co) composite films using filtered cathodic vacuum arc technique with a 15at% Co-containing graphite target and subsequently growing CNTs using biased thermal chemical vapor deposition at 580°C with the a-C:Co composite film as a catalyst layer. The as-grown CNTs with a thin diameter of about 10nm have a low threshold field of 1.6V∕μm and a stable current density of 2.1mA∕cm2 at 3V∕μm. Thus an x-ray source was built in a diode configuration using the CNTs as its cold electron source showing good potential in x-ray radiography.
Protein folding: The stepwise assembly of foldon units
Authors: Maity Haripada , Maity Mita , Krishna Mallela M. G. , Mayne Leland , Englander S. Walter
Published: March 2005

Equilibrium and kinetic hydrogen exchange experiments show that cytochrome
c
is composed of five foldon units that continually unfold and refold even under native conditions. Folding proceeds by the stepwise assembly of the foldon units rather than one amino acid at a time. The folding pathway is determined by a sequential stabilization process; previously formed foldons guide and stabilize subsequent foldons to progressively build the native protein. Four other proteins have been found to show similar behavior. These results support stepwise protein folding pathways through discrete intermediates.
The temporal dynamics of retention of a context memory: Something is missing
Authors: Rudy Jerry W. , Wright-Hardesty Karli
Published: March 2005

We use a variation of contextual fear conditioning, called the context
pre-exposure facilitation effect (CPFE) to study the rat's memory for context.
In this paradigm, the rat is pre-exposed to a conditioning context and later
returned to that context, where it is immediately shocked. The memory context
is revealed by the fact that pre-exposure to the conditioning context, but not
to a different context, greatly enhances conditioned fear produced by
immediate shock. We report that rat's retention of the context memory is a
nonmonotonic U-shaped function of the interval separating pre-exposure and
immediate shock. Retention performance decays rapidly so that within 2 min of
pre-exposure there is no evidence that the rat was pre-exposed to the context.
Within a few hours, however, a strong CPFE was observed that persisted for at
least 28 d. Two hypotheses are discussed: (1) the descending arm of the U
represents a retrieval failure, and (2) the U-shaped function represents two
discontinuous memory processes initiated in parallel—short-term synaptic
changes that are rapidly initiated, but also decay rapidly, and long-term
synaptic processes that take time to generate but can endure for days.
Welfare Reform and Substance Abuse
Authors: METSCH LISA R. , POLLACK HAROLD A.
Published: March 2005

The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) changed the nature, purpose, and financing of public aid. Researchers, administrators, and policymakers expressed special concern about the act's impact on low‐income mothers with substance use disorders. Before PRWORA's passage, however, little was known about the true prevalence of these disorders among welfare recipients or about the likely effectiveness of substance abuse treatment interventions for welfare recipients. Subsequent research documented that substance abuse disorders are less widespread among welfare recipients than was originally thought and are less common than other serious barriers to self‐sufficiency. This research also showed significant administrative barriers to the screening, assessment, and referral of drug‐dependent welfare recipients. This article summarizes current research findings and examines implications for welfare reform reauthorization.
OPTIMAL REINSURANCE AND DIVIDEND DISTRIBUTION POLICIES IN THE CRAMÉR‐LUNDBERG MODEL
Authors: Azcue Pablo , Muler Nora
Published: March 2005

We consider that the reserve of an insurance company follows a Cramér‐Lundberg process. The management has the possibility of controlling the risk by means of reinsurance. Our aim is to find a dynamic choice of both the reinsurance policy and the dividend distribution strategy that maximizes the cumulative expected discounted dividend payouts. We study the usual cases of excess‐of‐loss and proportional reinsurance as well as the family of all possible reinsurance contracts. We characterize the optimal value function as the smallest viscosity solution of the associated Hamilton‐Jacobi‐Bellman equation and we prove that there exists an optimal band strategy. We also describe the optimal value function for small initial reserves.
Credit Rationing, Customer Relationship and the Number of Banks: an Empirical Analysis
Authors: De Bodt Eric , Lobez Frédéric , Statnik Jean‐Christophe
Published: March 2005

The recent important transformations of the banking sector, especially through numerous mergers and acquisitions, both in Europe and in the USA, have raised serious concerns for the financing of small businesses (SBS). Indeed, SBS are known to be heavily dependent of this financing channel but to be rather opaque. It has long been thought that banks classically solved this problem by developing long term customer relationships. But will the new large banks, born from the current restructuring process, be able to continue to play this role? If not, what strategy should SBS develop to compose their bank pool in order to avoid, as much as possible, credit rationing? These questions are at the heart of our analysis. We show that there is no unique rule: all depends on the degree of SBS opacity and the kind of bank the SBS are working with.
Are Euro Area Small Cap Stocks an Asset Class? Evidence from Mean‐Variance Spanning Tests
Authors: Petrella Giovanni
Published: March 2005

In this paper we perform regression‐based tests for mean‐variance spanning in order to detect the effect of investing in euro area small capitalisation stocks on the minimum variance frontier, and apply different measures to assess the extent of diversification gains. Empirical analysis shows that euro area small and mid cap stocks, as classified by size quartile and quintile rankings, arise as truly autonomous asset classes. This result is robust to different methodologies used to form size‐based portfolios, and holds relative to both euro area large cap stocks and other international asset classes, US small capitalisation stocks included.
Crayfish effects on seeds and seedlings: identification and quantification of damage
Authors: ANASTÁCIO PEDRO M. , PARENTE VASCO S. , CORREIA ALEXANDRA M.
Published: March 2005

1. The red‐swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) is an invasive species and an important pest of wet‐seeded rice fields (Oryza sativa) in California (U.S.A.) and in Portugal. Our work quantifies rice consumption and non‐consumptive destruction and identifies the types of direct damage inflicted by crayfish.

2. The following fractions were quantified in the presence and absence of crayfish and at 3 and 6 days of rice development: (1) non‐germinated seeds, (2) damaged seeds, (3) seeds not recovered, (4) intact rooted seedlings, (5) rooted damaged seedlings, (6) uprooted intact seedlings, (7) uprooted damaged seedlings.

3. Coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) fragments produced during the feeding process were <2% of the material removed by crayfish.

4. Damage occurred with or without uprooting of the plants, but the incidence of uprooting without consumption was low (1.4%).

5. Consumption of recently developed parts of the rice plant was the main cause of damage and the observed effect was stronger on 6‐day‐old than on 3‐day‐old seedlings. Seedlings were more affected by crayfish than were seeds.

6. Crayfish affected the majority of seeds and seedlings available although consumption was low: 0.015 g dry weight (DW) rice g−1 wet weight (WW) crayfish per 12 h at 3 days and 0.063 g DW rice g−1 WW crayfish per 12 h at 6 days.

7. Our results are important for the mitigation of crayfish related problems in rice fields and for understanding the mechanisms of crayfish‐macrophyte interactions.
Day–night changes in the spatial distribution and habitat preferences of freshwater shrimps, Gammarus pulex, in a stony stream
Authors: ELLIOTT J. M.
Published: March 2005

1. As many invertebrates are nocturnal, their spatial distribution and habitat preferences may change from day to night. Both aspects are examined for Gammarus pulex by testing the hypotheses: (i) a power function was a suitable model for the spatial distribution of the shrimps in both day and night; (ii) diurnal and nocturnal spatial distributions were significantly different; (iii) diurnal and nocturnal habitat preferences were significantly different. Five different life‐stages were treated separately. To ensure that the conclusions were consistent, large samples were taken near midday and midnight in April, June and November over 4 years at two sites about 3 km apart in a stony stream: downstream (n = 30) and upstream (n = 50).

2. The first and second hypotheses were supported at both sites. A power function, relating spatial variance (s2) to mean (m), was an excellent fit in all analyses (P < 0.001, r2 > 0.91), i.e. the spatial variance was density‐dependent. All five life‐stages were aggregated in the day. At night, the degree of aggregation increased for juveniles at higher densities but decreased for juveniles at lower densities, increased for immature females and males, but decreased slightly for mature females and especially mature males, the latter being close to a random distribution. There were no significant differences between sites, in spite of the lower numbers at the downstream site.

3. The third hypothesis was tested at only the upstream site and supported by comparisons between shrimp densities and 13 physical variables (distance from bank, water depth, water velocity, ten particle size‐classes), and three non‐physical variables (dry weights of bryophytes, leaf material, organic detritus). During the day, densities were strongly related to particle sizes with the following preferences: 0.5–8 mm for juveniles, 8–256 mm for the other life‐stages with a weaker relationship for males. There were no significant positive relationships with the other variables, apart from bryophytes for immature shrimps and adults. At night, densities were unrelated to particle size; juveniles and immature shrimps preferred low water velocities near the banks, often where leaf material and organic detritus accumulated, females often preferred medium water velocities slightly away from the banks, and males showed no habitat preferences.

4. Day samples do not provide a complete picture of habitat preferences and probably identify refuge habitats. Day–night changes in spatial distribution and habitat preferences are an essential part of the behavioural dynamics of the shrimps and should be investigated in other species.
Psychosocial assessment of patients who attend an accident and emergency department with self‐harm
Authors: BARR W. , LEITNER M. , THOMAS J.
Published: March 2005

It has been recommended that all patients attending hospital accident and emergency departments in the United Kingdom (UK) with self‐harm should be offered adequate psychosocial assessment to identify those at risk of completed suicide or repeated self‐harm. This paper focuses on the extent to which this recommendation has been implemented in a large district general hospital in Wales, and compares the characteristics and hospital management of patients who received no specialist assessment with those who were assessed by a psychiatric liaison nurse or a psychiatrist. Data were routinely collected as part of the hospital annual audit procedure and confirm previous findings that guidelines for the general hospital management of self‐harm patients have not been well implemented. Whilst we found some evidence that certain high risk patient groups were more likely to receive specialist assessment, this was far from universal. We conclude that if there is to be a reduction in the rate of suicide in Wales and the UK as a whole, it is crucial that services for people who self‐harm are more appropriately targeted on patients who are at greatest risk.
Happy with your care?
Authors: GRAHAM J. , DENOUAL I. , CAIRNS D.
Published: March 2005

With the recent rise of consumerism within health care, the views of service users are becoming increasingly important. The National Service Framework for Mental Health (DoH 1999) identifies assertive outreach as a strategy to engage people with severe and enduring mental illness, who traditionally lose contact with services. Assessing the views of service users is not a new strategy for service evaluation, but in relation to assertive outreach in the United Kingdom is relatively untested. A postal client satisfaction survey was undertaken as a means of enquiry, in order to ascertain the effectiveness of the Preston Assertive Outreach service from a service user perspective after its first year of operation. The team offers a service based upon the PACT (Program of Assertive Community Treatment) model. An evaluation study of 36 questionnaires produced a return rate of 56% (21 returns). The results showed a fairly high level of client satisfaction with the service provided. Client involvement in treatment was the area of service evaluated least favourably by the service users, with General satisfaction showing the highest level of client satisfaction. From the outcome of the study it appears there are potential benefits in utilizing feedback from service users’ to inform future service provision.