bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Integrating sustainable waste management into product design: sustainability as a functional requirement
Authors: Deutz Pauline , Neighbour Gareth , McGuire Michael
Published: June 2010

Municipal waste management is, by definition, spatially organized. In the United Kingdom the national government designates waste collection and disposal responsibilities to the various scales of local government. However, whilst the highest aim of waste management is prevention, achieving this is beyond the scope of local authorities, which deal with the waste stream presented to them as an independent variable. Alternatively, product design offers a potential point of policy intervention, by which the waste stream becomes a dependent variable. This paper innovatively argues that, for eco‐design to be effective, sustainable waste management must be established as a functional requirement in the design process. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Selective measurement of the electronic states of the steps on rutile TiO2 (15 15 4) surface by optical second harmonic spectroscopy
Authors: Takahashi Hiroaki , Watanabe Ryosuke , Mizutani Goro
Published: June 2010

We have obtained optical second harmonic spectra of stepped rutile TiO2 (15 15 4) adsorbed with formic acid HCOOH. We have achieved selective measurement of the electronic states of the bunched steps on this surface in an optical configuration with nearly normal incident laser illumination. For the polarization combinations S in‐S out and P in‐S out, the SH intensity was higher near the second harmonic photon energy 3.6 eV and also above 4.45 eV. The terraces and steps were found to show remarkably different contributions to the optical second harmonic spectra at 45° incidence. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effect of annealing on AlN/GaN quantum dot heterostructures: advanced ion beam characterization and X‐ray study of low‐dimensional structures
Authors: Magalhães S. , Lorenz K. , Franco N. , Barradas N. P. , Alves E. , Monteiro T. , Amstatt B. , Fellmann V. , Daudin B.
Published: June 2010

Multilayers consisting of six GaN quantum dot (QD) layers separated by AlN spacer layers were grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Structural properties and the effects of thermal annealing were analyzed using X‐ray diffraction (XRD), X‐ray reflection (XRR) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry/Channeling (RBS/C). Annealing was performed in nitrogen atmosphere for 20 min at temperatures between 1000 and 1200 °C.

The GaN QDs on the surface were destroyed at temperatures ≥ 1100 °C while the AlN spacer layers protected the deeper lying QD layers. The multilayer structure was well preserved for all studied temperatures. Indications of interdiffusion in the interfaces were found. Thickness fluctuations were evidenced by XRR. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Nonbiofouling surface based on amphiphilic alkanethiol self‐assembled monolayers
Authors: Feng Shijun , Huang Yangen , Wang Qiang , Qing Feng‐Ling
Published: June 2010

A series of novel amphiphilic alkanethiols used for preparation of nonbiofouling surfaces have been synthesized and characterized. Surface properties of the resultant self assembled layers have been studied by multiple characterization techniques, such as XPS, Grazing angle infrared spectroscopy (GA‐FTIR) and contact angle measurements. The antifouling performance of surfaces grafted with terminally fluorinated alkanethiols were assayed employing the fouling diatom Nitzschia and ubiquitous Staphylococcus aureus. The results indicated that amphiphilic alkanethiol‐grafted surfaces could effectively reduce the bacterial adhesion and settlement of the fouling diatom. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Surface structure of cationic surfactant solutions investigated by angular resolved X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy with calibrated transmission function
Authors: Wang Chuangye , Morgner Harald
Published: June 2010

The main goal of the present work is to investigate the surface structure of cationic surfactant solutions by angular resolved X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ARXPS) after calibrating transmission function of the spectrometer. We have estimated the transmission function of the ARXPS spectrometer, and with it, we investigated solution of tetrabutylammonium iodide in a nonaqueous polar solvent. By genetic algorithm, the fractional concentration‐depth profiles of constituents were reconstructed. These depth profiles evidence the enrichment of surfactant and the depletion of solvent in the surface regime and verify the separate distributions of oppositely charged surfactant ions. From those profiles we draw a conclusion that there is a preferred orientation for cation present at the surface, and the possibility for cation to take this orientation is related to its surface amount. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Estimation of relative risk and prevalence ratio
Authors: Savu Anamaria , Liu Qi , Yasui Yutaka
Published: June 2010

Relative risks (RRs) and prevalence ratios (PRs) are measures of association that are more intuitively interpretable than odds ratios (ORs). Many health science studies report OR estimates, however, even when their designs permit and study questions target RRs and/or PRs. This is, partially, attributable to the popularity and technical advantage (i.e. no restriction on the parameter space) of logistic regression for estimating ORs. To improve this practice, several biostatistical approaches for estimating RR/PR, adjusting for potential confounders, have been proposed. In this paper, we consider two RR/PR estimating methods: (1) the modification of log‐binomial regression with the COPY method; and (2) an inverse‐probability‐of‐treatment‐weighted (IPTW) log‐binomial regression we newly propose. For the COPY method, we rigorously establish the existence and uniqueness of the maximum‐likelihood estimator, provided certain degeneracies in the data do not occur. Moreover, the global maximum of the COPY‐modified likelihood is shown to occur at an interior point of the restricted parameter space. This result explains why the COPY method avoids convergence problems of log‐binomial models frequently. For the IPTW estimator, we show that its simple procedure results in standardized estimates of RR/PR, and discuss its potential challenges, extensions, and an improvement through propensity‐score‐based grouping of observations. Furthermore, we compare the performances of four RR/PR estimation methods, including the COPY method and IPTW log‐binomial regression, on simulated data. We demonstrate a lack of robustness of the COPY method against misspecification of the true relationship between binary outcome and explanatory variables, and show robustness of the IPTW approach in this regard. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Chestnut and acorn starch properties affected by isolation methods
Authors: Correia Paula Reis , Beirão‐da‐Costa Maria Luísa
Published: June 2010

Starches from chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) and acorns (Quercus suber Lam. and Q. rotundifolia Lam.) were isolated from dried fruits using four different methods. These involved a physicochemical and/or an enzymatic treatment followed by centrifugation and sieving: (i) low shear at alkaline pH – LSA, (ii) high shear in water – HSW, (iii) enzymatic treatment at low shear – LSE, (iv) LSA and using successively three sieves – LSA3S. Raw yield, purity, colour parameters, morphology, protein, fat, ash, reducing sugars and amylose contents, damaged starch content and viscoamylographic profiles were studied in isolated starches, presenting different properties through different methods. In general, chestnut starch seems to be poorly resistant to extraction methodologies as shown by the damaged starch content and viscoamylographic properties encountered during this study. Moreover, acorn starches exhibited cross‐linked amylographic patterns. For all the tested raw materials, the LSA3S isolation method always higher yield and purity of starches. Gelatinization temperature and peak consistency were also higher than those shown by starches produced by the other methods, a less damaged structure was also evident. In conclusion, it seems that this method is the most suitable to produce starch for food ingredient usage.
Halogenation of Dibenzoselenophene and Dibenzo[1,2]diselenine
Authors: Klapötke Thomas M. , Krumm Burkhard , Scherr Matthias
Published: June 2010

The syntheses of the selenium containing heterocycles dibenzoselenophene (1 ≡ biphenSe) and dibenzo[1,2]diselenine (2 ≡ biphenSe2) were optimized. The halogenation reactions of 1 and 2 with XeF2, SO2Cl2, Br2 and I2 were performed and the corresponding products characterized. In the case of 1, the selenium(IV) dihalogenides, biphenSeF2 (3), biphenSeCl2 (4), biphenSeBr2 (5), and the adduct biphenSe·I2 (6), were isolated and identified. The extremely sensitive selenium(IV) difluoride 3 slowly formed significant amounts of an adduct with HF of the corresponding selenium(IV) oxide biphenSeO·HF (3a) upon storage in glass vessels at low temperatures. In the case of 2, the selenium(IV) trihalogenides, biphen(SeHal3)2 (Hal = F, Cl, Br), were found to be extremely labile (Hal = F) or not detectable (Hal = Cl, Br). Instead, as decomposition products, the selenium chloride species Se2Cl2, SeCl4 and 1 were detected. In the case of Hal = I, the stable adduct biphenSe2·I2 (7) was isolated. In addition to characterization by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, several molecular structures of biphen‐selenium substituted halogenides were determined.
Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Monitoring During Esophagectomy and Mediastinal Lymph Node Dissection
Authors: Gelpke Hans , Grieder Felix , Decurtins Marco , Cadosch Dieter
Published: June 2010

Background

Patients who undergo surgery to the esophagus and lungs are in jeopardy of recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) damage during the procedure. This study was designed to investigate the feasibility of intraoperative monitoring of the RLN for single‐lung ventilation esophagus and lung surgery.

Methods

Twelve consecutive patients booked for esophagus or lung surgery were included in this prospective, observational study. Six patients underwent transthoracic esophagectomy for carcinoma of the esophagogastric junction or lower esophagus, five had a lobectomy, and one underwent a pneumonectomy for lung carcinoma. Intraoperative, noninvasive RLN identification and monitoring was performed unilaterally (n = 8) or bilaterally (n = 4) using a handheld stimulator and a laryngeal surface electrode. The correct functioning of the nerve monitoring system was tested directly at the vagus nerve. Diagnosis of postoperative RLN paralysis was performed using indirect laryngoscopy.

Results

During the surgical procedures, we monitored a nerve signal in all 12 patients. In one patient with lower esophagus carcinoma, a nerve signal could be detected only on one side. Postoperative indirect laryngoscopy showed normal vocal cord movement in all patients.

Conclusions

Intraoperative RLN identification and monitoring during single‐lung ventilation surgery is technically feasible, easy, and reliable. The introduction of standardized RLN monitoring during this type of surgery may reduce the incidence of permanent RLN paralysis.
Fruit fall in tropical and temperate forests: implications for frugivore diversity
Authors: Hanya Goro , Aiba Shin‐ichiro
Published: June 2010

There have been few attempts to compare fruit productivity throughout the world, although this is indispensable for understanding the global variations in frugivore diversity. The purposes of this study are (1) to reveal the patterns in fruit fall in tropical and temperate forests, (2) to examine the environmental factors (location, climate, and total litterfall) affecting these patterns, and (3) to assess the effect of fruit fall on frugivore diversity by using bird and primate data. Fruit fall was compared among 53 forests, from around the equator to the cool‐temperate zone at 62°N, in Asia, Africa, North and South America, and Australia. Average ± SD of fruit fall (kg/ha/year) was 454 ± 258 in tropical, and 362 ± 352 in temperate forests. Fruit fall was exceptionally high in Australia (812 ± 461). When Australia was excluded, fruit fall significantly decreased with increasing absolute latitude and altitude, and fruit fall in tropical forest was 1.7 times larger than that in temperate forests (265 ± 227). Total litterfall affected fruit fall significantly, explaining 32, 28, and 64% of the variations of fruit fall in the entire data, tropical data, and temperate data, respectively. The fruit fall/litterfall ratio did not differ between temperate and tropical forests but was significantly higher in Australia than in other regions. Among climatic parameters (annual temperature, precipitation, actual evapotranspiration), a positive relationship was found between temperature and fruit fall in the entire dataset and within temperate forests. Fruit fall seemed to explain the temperate/tropical difference in frugivorous primate diversity to some extent, but not for frugivorous bird diversity. This study shows that the difference in fruit fall in tropical and temperate forests is smaller than that in frugivore diversity, and that it could explain at least part of the frugivore diversity.
Clinicians’ justification of imaging: do radiation issues play a role?
Authors: Borgen Lars , Stranden Erling , Espeland Ansgar
Published: June 2010

Objective

To explore clinicians’ knowledge and consideration of radiation, in relation to their referral practice and use of referral guidelines for imaging.

Methods

A questionnaire was handed out to 213 clinicians in Norway; all responded: 77 general practitioners, 71 hospital physicians and 65 non-physicians (55 manual physiotherapists, 10 chiropractors). Questions concerned weighting of radiation dose, guideline use, referrals unlikely to affect treatment, doses from imaging procedures, ranking of imaging as radiation source, and deterministic and stochastic effects. For radiation knowledge, a total score was aggregated.

Results

The mean radiation knowledge score was 30.4/71. Most respondents underestimated doses from high-dose imaging, e.g., barium enema (94.7%), chest CT (57.7%) and abdominal CT (52.7%). Limited radiation knowledge was not compensated by using guidelines. Only 20% of physicians and 72% of non-physicians used referral guidelines. Non-physicians weighted radiation dose as being more important than physicians when referring; they also reported fewer referrals as being unlikely to affect treatment. Such referrals and not using guidelines were related to lower weighting of radiation dose but not to radiation knowledge.

Conclusion

Limited radiation knowledge and guideline use indicate suboptimal justification of referrals. When justifying imaging, weighting of radiation dose may play a larger role than detailed radiation knowledge.
Driving and Reintegration Into the Community in Patients After Stroke
Authors: Finestone Hillel M. , Guo Meiqi , O'Hara Paddi , Greene‐Finestone Linda , Marshall Shawn C. , Hunt Lynn , Biggs Jennifer , Jessup Anita
Published: June 2010

Objective

To investigate the relationship between driving versus not driving and community integration after stroke. Much research on patients who drive after experiencing a stroke has focused on driving assessment protocols; little attention has been given to the implications of assessment outcomes.

Design

Prospective study.

Setting

Six driving evaluation centers in Ontario, Canada.

Participants

Fifty‐three community‐dwelling patients who were referred for a driving assessment after they experienced a stroke.

Methods

Data on demographics, living circumstances, health status, driving habits, and driving history were gathered via a semistructured interview and various questionnaires administered on 3 occasions: study entry (≥1 month after stroke; n = 53), 3 months (n = 44), and 1 year (n = 43).

Main Outcome Measurement

Reintegration into the community at 1 year, as evaluated with the Reintegration to Normal Living Index (RNLI).

Results

The participants had sustained a stroke an average of 12.3 months before study entry. Two subjects were driving at study entry. At 1 year, 28 (65%) of 43 subjects had passed their driving test and had resumed/continued driving. Nondrivers had a significantly lower mean RNLI score than drivers. Subjects who were not driving at study entry but had resumed driving by 1 year had a significant increase in RNLI score (P = .011). Driving was significantly associated with community integration after adjustment for concomitant health status (P < .001). Driving and health status were associated with community integration at 1 year, accounting for 32% of the variance in RNLI score.

Conclusions

Driving after stroke was significantly associated with community integration in patients after adjustment for health status (P < .001). Community decision‐makers may decide to use the study results when determining the transportation needs of stroke survivors who self‐limit their driving because of weather, time of day, or distance concerns.
The effect of the crystal size in sample on the trace-element concentration
Authors: Tauson V.L. , Pastushkova T.M. , Babkin D.N. , Krasnoshchekova T.S. , Lustenberg E.E.
Published: June 2010

The dependence of trace-element concentration on the size of crystal in sample is experimentally studied by the example of gold distribution among single crystals of different sizes of hydrothermally grown pyrite, As-pyrite, and magnetite. The effect is modeled on the assumption that the Au uptake is due to a nonautonomous phase (NAP) at crystal surface. The structurally bound gold admixture is estimated from the dependence of the average content of evenly distributed gold on the specific surface of average crystal (1.5, 0.5, and 0.7 ppm for pyrite, As-pyrite with 0.02–0.08 wt.% As, and magnetite, respectively). The gold concentrations in hypothetical “pure” NAPs have been estimated by the extrapolation of the concentration dependence to the characteristic size of an NAP. The coefficients of fractionation of Au into an NAP relative to the bulk phase are 1.1 × 103, 3.5 × 103, and 2.4 × 103 for pyrite, As-pyrite, and magnetite, respectively. Thus, the above effect is comparable in magnitude with the known effect of trace-element trapping by defects of crystal structure. Arsenic admixture favors the fractionation of gold into an NAP. We also considered other manifestations of this effect and its significance for solving problems of experimental geochemistry and analytical chemistry of trace elements and mineral processing. The data obtained substantiate the new mechanism of uptake of incompatible elements (including noble metals) during endogenic ore formation as more common and more effective than classical adsorption, including reducing adsorption of mercury and noble metals on mineral phases.
CENTRALIZERS IN THE SEMIGROUP OF INJECTIVE TRANSFORMATIONS ON AN INFINITE SET
Authors: KONIECZNY JANUSZ
Published: June 2010

For an infinite setX, denote by Γ(X) the semigroup of all injective mappings fromXtoX. Forα∈Γ(X), letC(α)={β∈Γ(X):αβ=βα} be the centralizer ofαin Γ(X). For an arbitraryα∈Γ(X), we characterize the elements ofC(α) and determine Green’s relations inC(α), including the partial orders of ℒ-, ℛ-, and 𝒥-classes.
ON A CLASS OF GENERALIZED FERMAT EQUATIONS
Authors: DĄBROWSKI ANDRZEJ
Published: June 2010

We generalize the main result of the paper by Bennett and Mulholland [‘On the diophantine equation xn+yn=2αpz2’, C. R. Math. Acad. Sci. Soc. R. Can.28 (2006), 6–11] concerning the solubility of the diophantine equation xn+yn=2αpz2. We also demonstrate, by way of examples, that questions about solubility of a class of diophantine equations of type (3,3,p) or (4,2,p) can be reduced, in certain cases, to studying several equations of the type (p,p,2).
Images of the World: Studying Abroad and Chinese Attitudes towards International Affairs
Authors: Han Donglin , Zweig David
Published: June 2010

Since the late 19th century many Chinese leaders have studied abroad, mostly in Japan, the US or the former Soviet Union. Recently, thousands are returning from studying overseas. Is this new cohort of returnees more internationalist than Chinese who do not study abroad? If their values differ and they join China's elite, they could influence China's foreign policy. Drawing on surveys of returnees from Japan and Canada over the past 15 years, we compare their views on “co-operative internationalism” and “assertive nationalism” with the attitudes of China's middle class drawn from a nationwide survey in 2006. Our returnees are both more “internationalist” than the middle class and less nationalistic. So they are likely to support China's increasing international role and perhaps constrain China's growing nationalist sentiment.
Northern Exposure: Cross-Regionalism and the China–Iceland Preferential Trade Negotiations
Authors: Lanteigne Marc
Published: June 2010

An increasingly visible facet of China's commercial diplomacy has been its pursuit of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) with small and medium-sized economies outside Asia. China's PTAs, completed or under negotiation, have indicated both a conservative approach and an increasing comfort level with cross-regional trade negotiations. The China–Iceland PTA negotiations since 2006 illustrate this new thinking. Although the island state has a considerably smaller economy, China has perceived the negotiations as being undertaken between equals as well as an important bilateralism model. A successful deal will further demonstrate a new stage in Chinese commercial diplomacy and its approach to bilateral trade as well as a determination to engage the European economy even through a “side door” approach. However, in light of Iceland's banking crisis and deep recession in late 2008, Beijing has also had to address the uncertainties of negotiating with small states in a time of global economic uncertainty.
The Anti–Unity Sect Campaign and Mass Mobilization in the Early People's Republic of China
Authors: Hung Chang-tai
Published: June 2010

The anti-Unity Sect campaign (1949–53), a precursor to the Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries (thezhenfanmovement), was one of the Chinese Communists' most violent policies to root out a perceived evil cult in China. This article argues that the drive was never simply a religious crusade. It was essentially a mass mobilization for the purpose of consolidating the Communists' power and legitimacy. Through a host of propaganda channels, including media attacks and public trials, the Communists dealt a crippling blow to the sect. The mobilization campaign turned many citizens into supporters and agents of the government, and its tactics would soon be mimicked in subsequent political movements.
Between Law and Society: Mahariq's Responsum on The “Ways of the Gentiles” (Ḥuqqot Ha-‘Akkum)
Authors: Woolf Jeffrey R.
Published: June 2010

The late Professor Jacob Katz was wont to observe that the student seeking to properly study and evaluate rabbinic responsa must read his sources twice. First, he must examine the text from the point of view of the halakhist, and evaluate it as an integral part of halakhic literature and tradition, respecting the general assumption of the halakhist that Jewish law is a closed system, which operates according to its own rules. After this, he must don the spectacles of the historian and evaluate, as best he can, the degree to which contemporary circumstances had an impact (if any) upon or are reflected in the decisor's ruling. This dual challenge is quite daunting in so highly nuanced and idiomatically opaque a literature as the halakhah. Caution and sensitivity must be the hallmark of all efforts to achieve both of the aims posited by Katz, especially the latter. As a result of the sagacity of Katz's admonition, halakhic historiography in recent years has made heavy use of the medium of case studies (carried out within specific periods and geographical areas). Recourse to these has proven fruitful in advancing the historian's goal of carefully and responsibly reconstructing the history of halakhahper seand the annals of the societies and cultures within which halakhic traditions were developed and which, in turn, left their impact thereupon.
Morphological Fractal Analysis of Shape in Cancer Cells Treated with Combinations of Microtubule-Polymerizing and -Depolymerizing Agents
Authors: Uppal Sonal O. , Voronine Dmitri V. , Wendt Elizabeth , Heckman Carol A.
Published: June 2010

The current prognostic parameters, including tumor volume, biochemistry, or immunohistochemistry, are not sufficient to reflect the properties of cancer cells that distinguish them from normal cells. Our focus is to evaluate the effects of a combination of microtubule-polymerizing Taxol® and -depolymerizing colchicine on IAR20 PC1 liver cells by measuring the surface fractal dimension as a descriptor of two-dimensional vascular geometrical complexity. The fractal dimension offers a rapid means of assessing cell shape. Furthermore, we show correlations of fractal dimensions of cell contours with the latent factors from our previously employed cell shape analysis.
Three-Dimensional Imaging in Aberration-Corrected Electron Microscopes
Authors: Xin Huolin L. , Muller David A.
Published: June 2010

This article focuses on the development of a transparent and uniform understanding of possibilities for three-dimensional (3D) imaging in scanning transmission and confocal electron microscopes (STEMs and SCEMs), with an emphasis on the annular dark-field STEM (ADF-STEM), bright-field SCEM (BF-SCEM), and ADF-SCEM configurations. The incoherent imaging approximation and a 3D linear imaging model for ADF-STEM are reviewed. A 3D phase contrast model for coherent-SCEM as well as a pictorial way to find boundaries of information transfer in reciprocal space are reviewed and applied to both BF- and ADF-SCEM to study their 3D point spread functions and contrast transfer functions (CTFs). ADF-STEM is capable of detecting the depths of dopant atoms in amorphous materials but can fail for crystalline materials when channeling substantially modifies the electron propagation. For the imaging of extended (i.e., nonpointlike) features, ADF-STEM and BF-SCEM exhibit strong elongation artifacts due to the missing cone of information. ADF-SCEM shows an improvement over ADF-STEM/BF-SCEM due to its differential phase contrast eliminating slowly varying backgrounds, an effect that partially suppresses the elongation artifacts. However, the 3D CTF still has a cone of missing information that will result in some residual feature elongation as has been observed in A. Hashimoto et al., J Appl Phys160(8), 086101 (2009).
“You can only take so much, and it took everything out of me”: Coping strategies used by parents of children with cancer
Authors: Miedema Baukje , Hamilton Ryan , Fortin Pierrette , Easley Julie , Matthews Maria
Published: June 2010

Objective: This study qualitatively assesses the coping strategies of parents who care for a child with cancer.

Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 French and English families who had had a child diagnosed with cancer in the last ten years in two Eastern Canadian provinces. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded with a focus on parental coping strategies.

Results: Using coping behaviors as described and categorized in the Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response (FAAR) model as a foundation, we found that families used a variety of appraisal-, emotion-, and problem-focused coping. Appraisal-focused coping strategies involved trying to stay “positive” and “making positive comparisons.” Problem-focused coping involved behaviors such as being an advocate for the child and seeking information. The majority of parents, however, described using emotion-focused coping behaviors such as trying to avoid “feeling too much” by hiding difficult emotions and “escaping” from problems. Others used more positive emotion-focused coping behaviors such as humor, seeking support (informal or formal), or writing diaries. A small group of parents used ineffective coping strategies (alcohol abuse, misdirected anger) that added to family stress. These ineffective strategies have led to a modification of the FAAR model indicating that not all coping behaviors are beneficial to family adjustment in crisis. Overall, many parents felt that their coping strategies were effective; however, a few described having a complete “coping breakdown”.

Significance of results: Parents used a range of coping strategies of which emotion-focused coping was the most prominent. We have enhanced the FAAR model by including additional coping behaviors as well as a description of how some coping behaviors add to the daily stressors for parents dealing with a child's illness. Professional health care providers need to understand the variability of the coping behaviors in order to appropriately assist parents to avoid coping breakdowns.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and assisted ventilation: How patients decide
Authors: Lemoignan Josée , Ells Carolyn
Published: June 2010

Background: Throughout the course of their illness, people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) must make many treatment decisions; however, none has such a significant impact on quality of life and survival as decisions about assisted ventilation.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to better understand the experience of decision-making about assisted ventilation for ALS patients.

Methods: Using qualitative phenomenology methodology, 10 semi-structured interviews were conducted with persons with ALS and their caregivers to elicit factors that are pertinent to their decision-making process about assisted ventilation.

Results: Six main themes emerged from the interviews. (1) the meaning of the intervention — participants made a sharp distinction between non-invasive ventilation, which they viewed as a means to relieve symptoms of respiratory failure, and invasive ventilation, which they viewed as taking over their breathing and thereby saving their life when they otherwise would die, (2) the importance of context — including functional status, available supports, and financial implications, (3) the importance of values — with respect to communication, relationships, autonomy, life, and quality of life, (4) the effect of fears — particularly respiratory distress, chocking, running out of air, and the process of death itself, (5) the need for information — how use of assisted ventilation would impact daily life, how death from respiratory failure would occur, how caregivers and persons with ALS differ in their information needs and common misconceptions, and (6) adaptation to or acceptance of the intervention — a lengthy process that involved gradual familiarization with the equipment and its benefits.

Significance of the research: People with ALS and caregivers value autonomy in decision-making about assisted ventilation. Their decision-making process is neither wholly rational nor self-interested, and includes factors that health professionals should anticipate and address. Discussions about assisted ventilation and timing should be tailored to each individual and undertaken periodically.
Pay scheme preferences and health policy objectives
Authors: Abelsen Birgit
Published: June 2010

This paper studies the preferences among healthcare workers towards pay schemes involving different levels of risk. It identifies which pay scheme individuals would prefer for themselves, and which they think is best in furthering health policy objectives. The paper adds, methodologically, a way of defining pay schemes that include different levels of risk. A questionnaire was mailed to a random sample of 1111 dentists. Respondents provided information about their current and preferred pay schemes, and indicated which pay scheme, in their opinion, would best further overall health policy objectives. A total of 504 dentists (45%) returned the questionnaire, and there was no indication of systematic non-response bias. Allpublicdentists had a current pay scheme based on a fixed salary and the majority of individuals preferred a pay scheme with more income risk. Their preferred pay schemes coincided with the ones believed to further stabilise healthcare personnel. The predominant current pay scheme amongprivatedentists was based solely on individual output, and the majority of respondents preferred this pay scheme. In addition, their preferred pay schemes coincided with the ones believed to further efficiency objectives. Both public and private dentists believed that pay schemes, furthering efficiency objectives, had to include more performance-related pay than the ones believed to further stability and quality objectives.
The dynamics of support: the winners–losers gap in attitudes toward EU membership in post-communist countries
Authors: Herzog Alexander , Tucker Joshua A.
Published: June 2010

We examine the question of whether economic winners were more likely to support European Union (EU) membership than economic losers in post-communist countries. We include in our analysis every cross-national survey of post-communist countries with both a measure of individual attitudes toward EU membership as well as an appropriate measure of individual self-assessment of economic progress. The resultant data set contains data from 67 different surveys over a 12-year period (1991–2003) in all 10 post-communist countries that have joined the EU to date. Using a variety of analytical techniques, ranging from simple cross-tables and multivariate analysis of the individual surveys to multilevel models of a fully pooled data set, we show that the pattern of economic winners being more likely to support EU membership for their country is remarkably consistent across both time and space. At the same time, the dynamic component of the analysis allows us to show that the size of this gap varies over time, with winners being even more likely to support EU membership than losers when EU membership is a more realistic possibility.
Maternal high fat diet during critical windows of development alters adrenal cortical and medullary enzyme expression in adult male rat offspring
Authors: Connor K. L. , Vickers M. H. , Cupido C. , Sirimanne E. , Sloboda D. M.
Published: June 2010

We previously reported that a maternal high fat (HF) diet resulted in adult offspring with increased adiposity and hyperleptinemia. As leptin has an inhibitory effect on adrenal steroidogenesis and a stimulatory effect on epinephrine synthesis, we hypothesized that key adrenal steroidogenic and catecholaminergic enzymes would be altered in these offspring. Wistar rats were randomized into three groups at weaning: (1) control dams fed a standard control chow diet from weaning and throughout pregnancy and lactation (CON), (2) dams fed a HF diet from weaning and throughout pregnancy and lactation (MHF) and (3) dams fed standard control chow diet throughout life until conception, then fed a HF diet in pregnancy and lactation (PLHF). Dams were mated at day 100 (P100). After birth at P22 (weaning), male offspring were fed a standard control chow (con) or high fat (hf) diet. At P160, plasma samples and adrenal tissues were collected. Postweaning hf diet significantly elevated plasma corticosterone concentrations in PLHF-hf offspring compared to PLHF-con. MHF nutrition increased adrenal adrenocorticotrophic hormone receptor (ACTH-R) mRNA levels compared to CON-con. 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3βHSD) mRNA levels were decreased in MHF compared to PLHF offspring. PhenylethanolamineN-methyltransferase (PNMT) mRNA levels were increased in MHF-hf offspring compared to MHF-con. Plasma homocysteine (HCY) concentrations were significantly elevated in CON-hf and MHF-hf offspring compared to chow-fed offspring, associated with elevated intakes of methionine and reduced intakes of pyridoxine. Immunoreactive leptin receptor (ObRb) and PNMT were colocalized in medullary chromaffin cells. This study suggests that a postweaning HF diet in offspring induced changes in adrenal gene expression levels that are dependent upon the level of maternal nutrition.
Long‐term snow, climate, and streamflow trends at the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed, Owyhee Mountains, Idaho, United States
Authors: Nayak A. , Marks D. , Chandler D. G. , Seyfried M.
Published: June 2010

Forty‐five water years (1962–2006) of carefully measured temperature, precipitation, snow, and streamflow data for valley bottom, midelevation, and high‐elevation sites within the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed, located in the state of Idaho, United States, were analyzed to evaluate the extent and magnitude of the impact of climate warming on the hydrology and related resources in the interior northwestern United States. This analysis shows significant trends of increasing temperature at all elevations, with larger increases in daily minimum than daily maximum. The proportion of snow to rain has decreased at all elevations, with the largest and most significant decreases at midelevations and low elevations. Maximum seasonal snow water equivalent has decreased at all elevations, again with the most significant decreases at lower elevations, where the length of the snow season has decreased by nearly a month. All trends show a significant elevation gradient in either timing or magnitude. Though interannual variability is large, there has been no significant change in water year total precipitation or streamflow. Streamflow shows a seasonal shift, stronger at high elevations and delayed at lower elevations, to larger winter and early spring flows and reduced late spring and summer flows.
Upper mantle rheology from GRACE and GPS postseismic deformation after the 2004 Sumatra‐Andaman earthquake
Authors: Panet I. , Pollitz F. , Mikhailov V. , Diament M. , Banerjee P. , Grijalva K.
Published: June 2010

Mantle rheology is one of the essential, yet least understood, material properties of our planet, controlling the dynamic processes inside the Earth's mantle and the Earth's response to various forces. With the advent of GRACE satellite gravity, measurements of mass displacements associated with many processes are now available. In the case of mass displacements related to postseismic deformation, these data may provide new constraints on the mantle rheology. We consider the postseismic deformation due to theMw= 9.2 Sumatra 26 December 2004 andMw= 8.7 Nias 28 March 2005 earthquakes. Applying wavelet analyses to enhance those local signals in the GRACE time varying geoids up to September 2007, we detect a clear postseismic gravity signal. We supplement these gravity variations with GPS measurements of postseismic crustal displacements to constrain postseismic relaxation processes throughout the upper mantle. The observed GPS displacements and gravity variations are well explained by a model of viscoelastic relaxation plus a small amount of afterslip at the downdip extension of the coseismically ruptured fault planes. Our model uses a 60 km thick elastic layer above a viscoelastic asthenosphere with Burgers body rheology. The mantle below depth 220 km has a Maxwell rheology. Assuming a low transient viscosity in the 60–220 km depth range, the GRACE data are best explained by a constant steady state viscosity throughout the ductile portion of the upper mantle (e.g., 60–660 km). This suggests that the localization of relatively low viscosity in the asthenosphere is chiefly in the transient viscosity rather than the steady state viscosity. We find a 8.1018Pa s mantle viscosity in the 220–660 km depth range. This may indicate a transient response of the upper mantle to the high amount of stress released by the earthquakes. To fit the remaining misfit to the GRACE data, larger at the smaller spatial scales, cumulative afterslip of about 75 cm at depth should be added over the period spanned by the GRACE models. It produces only small crustal displacements. Our results confirm that satellite gravity data are an essential complement to ground geodetic and geophysical networks in order to understand the seismic cycle and the Earth's inner structure.
Anisotropic scaling of tectonic stylolites: A fossilized signature of the stress field?
Authors: Ebner Marcus , Toussaint Renaud , Schmittbuhl Jean , Koehn Daniel , Bons Paul
Published: June 2010

Vertical stylolites are pressure solution features, which are considered to be caused by horizontal tectonic loading, with the largest principal compressive stress being (sub‐)parallel to the Earth's surface. In the present study we analyze the roughness of such tectonic stylolites from two tectonic settings in southern Germany and northeastern Spain, aiming to investigate their scaling properties with respect to the stress during formation. High‐resolution laser profilometry was carried out on opened stylolite surfaces of nine samples. These data sets were then analyzed using one‐ and two‐dimensional Fourier power spectral approaches. We found that tectonic stylolites show two self‐affine scaling regimes separated by a distinct crossover length (L), as known for bedding parallel stylolites. In addition, tectonic stylolites exhibit a clear in‐plane scaling anisotropy that modifies L. Since the largest and smallest crossover lengths are oriented with the sample vertical and horizontal directions (i.e., σ2 and σ3) and L is a function of the stress field during formation as analytically predicted, we conclude that the scaling anisotropy of tectonic stylolites is possibly a function of the stress field. Knowledge of this crossover‐length anisotropy would enable the reconstruction of the full three‐dimensional stress tensor if independent constraints of the depth of formation can be obtained.
Influence of subducted components on back‐arc melting dynamics in the Manus Basin
Authors: Beier Christoph , Turner Simon P. , Sinton John M. , Gill James B.
Published: June 2010

Lavas erupted in back‐arc basins afford the opportunity to explore the extent to which decompression and subduction‐related components influence partial melting in this setting. We present U‐Th‐Ra disequilibria data from 24 well‐characterized lavas from the Manus Basin behind the New Britain volcanic arc, supplemented by some additional trace element and Sr‐Nd‐Pb isotope data. The lavas range in composition from 49.6 to 57.7 wt % SiO2 and can be subdivided into those that are broadly like mid‐ocean ridge basalts (MORB) with Ba/Nb < 16 and back‐arc basin basalts (BABB) that are variably influenced by subduction components and have Ba/Nb > 16. Rifts closest to the arc are dominated by BABB, whereas both lavas types erupt further away at the Manus Spreading Center. The MORB have small 230Th excesses (up to 5%) and are displaced below the global correlation of (230Th/238U) with ridge depth. In most respects the BABB closely resemble lavas erupted along the New Britain arc front, including 238U excesses that reach 26%. The Pb isotope data can be explained by mixing of a subduction component into an Indian MORB mantle source. The Pb in the subduction component is derived from both the subducted sediment (5%) and fluids from the subducting altered Solomon Sea oceanic crust (95%), and these were mixed prior to addition to the mantle wedge. U/Th ratios, Fe3+/ΣFe, and H2O contents all increase with increasing 206Pb/204Pb. A model in which addition of the subduction component to the mantle wedge is followed by 230Th in‐growth during decompression and dynamic melting all less than 140 kyr prior to eruption can simulate the data. However, our preferred model is one of dynamic decompression melting in which subduction‐modified, more oxidized mantle had DU ≪ DTh leading to 238U excesses in contrast to unmodified mantle that yields 230Th excess. Large 226Ra excesses in some southern rift samples require addition of a fluid <8 kyr ago but elsewhere reflect melting under low‐porosity conditions.
Response of river‐dominated delta channel networks to permanent changes in river discharge
Authors: Edmonds Doug , Slingerland Rudy , Best Jim , Parsons Dan , Smith Norm
Published: June 2010

Using numerical experiments, we investigate how river‐dominated delta channel networks are likely to respond to changes in river discharge predicted to occur over the next century as a result of environmental change. Our results show for a change in discharge up to 60% of the initial value, a decrease results in distributary abandonment in the delta, whereas an increase does not significantly affect the network. However, an increase in discharge beyond a threshold of 60% results in channel creation and an increase in the density of the distributary network. This behavior is predicted by an analysis of an individual bifurcation subject to asymmetric water surface slopes in the bifurcate arms. Given that discharge in most river basins will change by less than 50% in the next century, our results suggest that deltas in areas of increased drought will be more likely to experience significant rearrangement of the delta channel network.
Spatial variability of sea level rise due to water impoundment behind dams
Authors: Fiedler Julia W. , Conrad Clinton P.
Published: June 2010

Dams have impounded ∼10,800 km3 of water since 1900, reducing global sea level by ∼30.0 mm and decreasing the rate of sea level rise. The load from impounded water depresses the earth's surface near dams and elevates the geoid, which locally increases relative sea level (RSL). We computed patterns of dam‐induced RSL change globally, and estimated that tide gauges, which are often close to dams, recorded only ∼60% of the global average sea level drop due to reservoir building. Thus, RSL in the globally averaged ocean rose ∼0.2 mm/yr more slowly than has been recorded by tide gauges, or ∼10% slower than the measured rise rate of 1.5–2.0 mm/yr. Relative proximity to dams caused RSL to rise fastest in northeastern North America and slowest in the Pacific. This dam‐induced spatial variability may mask the sea level “fingerprint” of melting sources, especially northern (Greenland) sources of glacial unloading.
Record‐low thermospheric density during the 2008 solar minimum
Authors: Emmert J. T. , Lean J. L. , Picone J. M.
Published: June 2010

We use global‐average thermospheric total mass density, derived from the drag effect on the orbits of many space objects, to study the behavior of the thermosphere during the prolonged minimum in solar activity between cycles 23 and 24. During 2007–2009 thermospheric densities at a fiducial altitude of 400 km were the lowest observed in the 43‐year database, and were anomalously low, by 10–30%, compared with climatologically expected levels. The density anomalies appear to have commenced before 2006, well before the cycle 23/24 minimum, and are larger than expected from enhanced thermospheric cooling by increasing concentrations of CO2. The height dependence of the mass density anomalies suggests that they are attributable to a combination of lower‐than‐expected exospheric temperature (−14 K) and reductions in the number density of atomic oxygen (−12%) and other species (−3%) near the base of the diffusive portion of the thermosphere.