bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of repeated capsaicin ingestion on intestinal chemosensation and mechanosensation
Authors: HAMMER J.
Published: July 2006

Background

Ingestion of capsaicin reduces symptoms in functional dyspepsia but induces upper abdominal symptoms initially.

Aims

To evaluate the effects of one week of oral dosing with capsaicin on mechanonociception and chemonociception.

Methods

Healthy subjects ingested capsules containing 0.5 mg capsaicin t.d.s (n = 8) or placebo (n = 5) for 7 days. Before (day 0) and after (day 8) capsule ingestion the jejunum was distended with a balloon and perfused with a capsaicin solution. A graded questionnaire evaluated distension‐ and capsaicin‐induced sensation, aggregate perception scores were calculated.

Results

Infusion of capsaicin induced sensations similar to distension. In subjects receiving capsaicin capsules, mean ± S.E.M. perception scores at 24 mL distension volumes were 4.7 ± 1.2 (day 0) and 3.2 ± 1.3 (day 8, N.S.). Distension with 40 mL induced perception scores of 10.3 ± 1.0 vs. 8.2 ± 1.0 (P < 0.05). During capsaicin perfusion, first sensation was reported after 13.2 ± 1.9 min (day 0) and 8.1 ± 0.8 min (day 8, N.S.), discomfort thresholds after 44.1 ± 6.0 and 31.2 ± 5.7 min (P < 0.05). In the placebo group, mechano‐ and chemonociception remained unaltered on days 0 and 8.

Conclusions

One week of ingestion of capsaicin sensitized chemonociceptors, while sensitivity of mechanonociceptors for distension decreased. Painful sensations during the first week of treatment with capsaicin can be attributed to a sensitizing effect of capsaicin on vanilloid receptors.
Peripheral blood stem cell yield in 400 normal donors mobilised with granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor (G‐CSF): impact of age, sex, donor weight and type of G‐CSF used
Authors: Ings Stuart J. , Balsa Carmen , Leverett David , Mackinnon Stephen , Linch David C. , Watts Michael J.
Published: July 2006

Mobilised peripheral blood is now the main source of stem cells collected from normal donors. We report our experience of mobilising and collecting 400 normal healthy donors using standardised procedures and techniques. Target recipient doses were reached with one aphaeresis in 63% of donors and with two aphaereses in 81% of donors. Approximately 2% of donors yielded such low progenitor values that they were termed ‘poor mobilisers’. There were minor effects of donor age, weight and sex and where possible, larger male donors under the age of 55 years should be selected. Two forms of granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor (G‐CSF) were used at the same dose and no significant difference was seen in the yield of CD34+ cells collected/l of blood processed. However, a greater number of granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐forming cells were harvested using lenograstim (glycosylated G‐CSF) compared with filgrastim (non‐glycosylated G‐CSF; P = 0·002). CD34+ cell yields were also measured halfway through the aphaeresis procedure. This was found to be highly predictive of final yield and facilitated distribution of the stem cell product to other centres. The observation that CD34+ yields did not decline in the second half compared with the first half of aphaeresis suggests that the circulating cell numbers are not static.
Negative effects of changing temperature on amphibian immunity under field conditions
Authors: RAFFEL T. R. , ROHR J. R. , KIESECKER J. M. , HUDSON P. J.
Published: July 2006

Recent evidence of the important role of emerging diseases in amphibian population declines makes it increasingly important to understand how environmental changes affect amphibian immune systems.

Temperature‐dependent immunity may be particularly important to amphibian disease dynamics, especially in temperate regions. Changes in temperature are expected to cause deviations away from optimal levels of immunity until the immune system can respond.

To test whether temperature changes cause deviations from optimal immunity under natural conditions, we conducted a seasonal survey of adult Red‐Spotted Newts and measured basal levels of several immunological variables.

We then examined these findings in relation to: (1) the lag hypothesis, which predicts that changes in temperature‐dependent immune parameters lag behind short‐term temperature changes, and (2) the seasonal acclimation hypothesis, which predicts that immune cell production declines during long‐term temperature decreases until amphibians can fully acclimate to winter conditions.

Our results supported both hypotheses, showing a spring lag effect on lymphocyte levels and an even stronger seasonal acclimation effect on lymphocytes, neutrophils and eosinophils in the autumn. Our findings suggest that temperature variability causes increased susceptibility of amphibians to infection, and they have implications for the emergence of disease and the potential for climate change to exacerbate amphibian decline.
Prolactin, body condition and the cost of good parenting: an interyear study in a long‐lived seabird, Gould's Petrel (Pterodroma leucoptera)
Authors: O'DWYER T. W. , BUTTEMER W. A. , PRIDDEL D. M. , DOWNING J. A.
Published: July 2006

The pituitary hormone prolactin is thought to play an important role in the promotion of parental care in birds and mammals. The level of care parents provide is, however, likely to be influenced by additional factors, such as their physiological condition at the time of breeding.

We examined relationships between parental body condition, plasma prolactin levels and reproductive performance in Gould's Petrels (Pterodroma leucoptera), a long‐lived seabird. We predicted that parental body condition would correlate positively with both prolactin level and parenting intensity, as measured by the quality of the chick they produced. We also examined the effects of parenting intensity on parental body condition and reproductive success in the subsequent breeding season.

Body condition of male parents positively correlated with prolactin levels at the start of their second protracted incubation bout. The body condition of both parents correlated positively with the body condition of their chick at its peak mass. However, producing a good‐quality chick did not negatively affect parental body condition or reproductive success the following year.

These results suggest that prolactin reinforces parental behaviour in parents in good body condition, which facilitates production of good‐quality chicks. Moreover, good‐quality parents consistently produce good‐quality chicks with no apparent trade‐off to their physical condition.
Polymorphonuclear leucocytes selectively produce anti‐inflammatory interleukin‐1 receptor antagonist and chemokines, but fail to produce pro‐inflammatory mediators
Authors: Schröder Anja K. , Von Der Ohe Maren , Kolling Ute , Altstaedt Julia , Uciechowski Peter , Fleischer Daniela , Dalhoff Klaus , Ju XinSheng , Zenke Martin , Heussen Nicole , Rink Lothar
Published: July 2006

The role of neutrophils in the immune response has long been regarded as mainly phagocytic, but recent publications have indicated the production of several cytokines by polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMN). The results of the individual reports, however, vary considerably. In this study, we established a cytokine profile of pure human neutrophils and demonstrated that minor contamination of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in PMN preparations can lead to false‐positive results. In our hands, peripheral blood PMN fail to produce the pro‐inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)‐1β, IL‐6 and tumour necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α). Instead, they secrete large amounts of the chemokine IL‐8 and the anti‐inflammatory IL‐1 receptor antagonist (IL‐1ra). Additionally, PMN preparations of a high purity show production of the chemokines macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)‐1α, MIP‐1β and growth‐related oncogene‐α (GRO‐α), as well as macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (M‐CSF). The neutrophil therefore represents a novelty by producing the antagonist of IL‐1β (i.e. IL‐1ra) in the absence of IL‐1β itself. To support our results, we differentiated stem cells from human cord blood into PMN and monocytes, respectively. These in vitro‐differentiated PMN showed the same cytokine profile as peripheral blood PMN lacking IL‐1β, while differentiated monocytes produced the expected IL‐1β in addition to IL‐1ra. The clear anti‐inflammatory nature of their cytokine profile enables PMN to antagonize pro‐inflammatory signals in experimental conditions. It is therefore possible that PMN play a key role in immune regulation by counteracting a dysregulation of the inflammatory process. Clinical studies, in which administration of recombinant G‐CSF had a favourable effect on the outcome of severe infections and even sepsis without worsening inflammation, could thus be explained by our results.
Control theory and the management of ecosystems
Authors: LOEHLE CRAIG
Published: July 2006

Control theory is a well‐developed branch of mathematics and engineering that identifies optimal control policies for dynamic systems. While it should be useful for managing ecosystems, it is currently used only in certain fields of ecology and resource management, and only certain aspects of the theory are applied. Where optimal control policies have been determined, such as oceanic fisheries, the control policy often fails.

The goals of this study were to determine why control theory has not been used very much and why it fails, and also to improve its applicability to natural resource management. Control theory methods and assumptions were reviewed, and applications to agriculture, forestry and fisheries summarized. A comparison was made between control theory assumptions and the real ecological systems to which the method was applied. A fisheries example was developed to illustrate some improvements to the application of this technique.

It was shown that the paradoxical aspects of control theory in resource management result from the points of divergence of real systems from the assumptions of control theory. Because of non‐linearities, noise, sampling difficulties, policy implementation error and other issues, ecosystems are neither readily observable nor easily controllable. This means that even theoretically correct control policies can lead to failure.

The fisheries example showed that measurement error and management lags can of themselves lead to the collapse of a fishery. It was shown that the costs of acquiring information and managing the system need to be incorporated explicitly into the control problem as decision variables. The solution to the fisheries control problem prevented extinction of the fishery by reducing sampling error and management lags to reasonable but non‐zero levels.

Other suggestions are made for applying control theory with more success. By taking into account the deviations between the idealized control model and real systems, better resource management can be achieved. Control theory could also profitably be applied to the design of monitoring programmes, to model parameter estimation, and to other aspects of ecology and resource management where it is currently not being utilized.

Synthesis and applications. Control theory needs to be re‐evaluated for its utility in natural resource management. It offers the potential for providing effective management policies. To achieve this potential, techniques borrowed from engineering must be expanded to incorporate the effects of state uncertainty (measurement error), environmental fluctuations (stochasticity), parameter uncertainty and policy implementation error.
Lower serum viral loads in young patients with hepatitis‐B‐virus‐related hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Tsai F.‐C. , Liu C.‐J. , Chen C.‐L. , Chen P.‐J. , Lai M.‐Y. , Kao J.‐H. , Chen D.‐S.
Published: July 2006

Summary.  Advanced age and high hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA level are risk factors associated with the development of HBV‐related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, little is known about the role of viral load in the carcinogenesis of HCC in young people. A total of 183 HBV‐related HCC patients and 202 HBV carriers were therefore enrolled to compare serum viral loads in young (≤40 years of age) and old (>40 years of age) age groups. Other factors associated with the development of HCC were also analysed. The results showed that serum alanine aminotransferase (38.7 ± 24.1 vs 58.4 ± 65.4 IU/L, P = 0.006) and HBV DNA levels (log10 titre: 4.20 ± 1.33 vs 4.80 ± 1.39, P = 0.053) were lower in young HCC patients than in old HCC patients. There was a positive correlation between age and serum HBV DNA level in HCC patients but a negative correlation in HBV carriers. Young HCC patients with HBV genotype B infection had higher viral loads than those with genotype C infection (log10 titre: 4.79 ± 1.34 vs 3.27 ± 0.60, P = 0.001). By multivariate logistic regression analyses, high serum HBV DNA level was associated with the development of HCC in old patients [odds ratio (OR) 1.584, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.075–2.333] rather than in young patients (OR 0.848, 95% CI 0.645–1.116). In conclusion, viral factors in association with the development of HBV‐related HCC in young patients may be different from their old counterparts. The complicated interplay between host and virus could be responsible for the emergence and aggressive outcome of early‐onset HCC.
Domain switching and host recognition
Authors: Tian Miaoying , Day Brad
Published: July 2006

The collective function of secreted pathogen effector molecules is to enhance the virulence and avirulence activity of the pathogen during the infection of its host. While the activity of a majority of pathogen effectors is unknown, several classes of effector molecules have been well characterized. Among these include proteins which function to modulate host defences either through proteolysis, post‐translational modifications, or by directly manipulating the host transcriptional machinery that regulates the induction of defence responses. In recent years, several key advances have been made in the characterization of the latter class of effector molecules. Among these include research characterizing the processes associated with host nuclear import and the targeting of host transcriptional defences. While current research is beginning to reveal the biochemical and genetic mechanisms controlling the induction of host resistance, the signalling events that control host specificity remain largely unknown. In this issue of Molecular Microbiology, work by Nissan et al. sheds light onto the molecular‐genetic patterns involved in determining host specificity and pathogen virulence in the Pantoea–gypsophila interaction.
Paternal Genetic Effects on Foraging Decision‐Making Under the Risk of Predation
Authors: Lister Joanna S. , Neff Bryan D.
Published: July 2006

Foraging behavior under the risk of predation has interested biologists for decades. Here, we examine paternal genetic effects on foraging decisions of bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) larvae sired by males adopting alternative life histories. We use split in vitro fertilization to generate maternal half‐siblings sired by either a ‘parental’ male or a ‘cuckolder’ male. Immediately, upon the switch to exogenous feeding, we fed the larvae ad libitum for 2 d. We then starved the larvae for between 12 and 17 h, following which we subjected them to a dichotomous choice foraging trial, where one side of a test tank posed a risky foraging habitat and the other posed a safe foraging habitat. Equal amounts of food were simultaneously introduced to both sides of the tank and the proportion of individuals on either side was recorded. There were significantly fewer cuckolder offspring foraging on the risky side of the tank when compared with their parental half‐siblings indicating that cuckolder offspring took fewer risks than parental offspring. These results demonstrate a paternal genetic effect (sire life history) on foraging behavior. We ruled out energetic state as a possible explanation for this difference because the half‐siblings did not differ in body length or mass. Instead, previous research suggests that cuckolder offspring have higher conversion efficiency (efficiency of converting food into soma) than parental offspring and therefore the differences in foraging behavior observed here may, in part, be attributed to genetic differences in conversion efficiency.
Experimentally Elevated Plasma Testosterone Levels Do Not Influence Singing Behaviour of Male Blue Tits (Parus caeruleus) During the Early Breeding Season
Authors: Kunc Hansjoerg P. , Foerster Katharina , Vermeirssen Etiënne L. M. , Kempenaers Bart
Published: July 2006

Sexual selection theory suggests that females might prefer males on the basis of testosterone (T)‐dependent secondary sexual traits such as song. Correlational studies have linked high plasma T‐levels to high diurnal song output. This has been confirmed in experiments where T‐levels were kept high at times when natural T‐levels have decreased. However, surprisingly little is known about the relation between T‐levels during the early breeding season and song. In many passerine birds males sing at a high rate at dawn early in the breeding season, referred to as the dawn chorus. In blue tits (Parus caeruleus), the dawn chorus coincides with the fertile period of the female, whereas diurnal song occurs throughout the breeding season. Previous studies on blue tits showed that characteristics of the dawn chorus correlate with male reproductive success. We experimentally elevated plasma T‐levels in male blue tits during the pre‐fertile and fertile period. Our aim was to test whether increased plasma T‐levels affect dawn song characteristics and increase the amount of diurnal song. Although T‐implants successfully raised circulating T‐levels, we did not find any difference between T‐ and control males in temporal performance measures of dawn song or in diurnal song output. Our results suggest that either there is no direct causal link between song output or quality and individual T‐levels, or experimental manipulations of T‐levels using implants do not permit detection of such effects during the early breeding season. Although we cannot exclude that individual T‐levels are causally linked to other (e.g. structural) song parameters, our results cast doubt on T‐dependence as the mechanisms that enforces honesty on song as a sexually selected trait.
Seasonal Variation in Female Response to Male Calling Song in the Field Cricket, Gryllus rubens
Authors: Vélez Manuel J. , Jane Brockmann H.
Published: July 2006

Conspicuous traits that make males attractive to females may make them vulnerable to predators. Females that approach conspicuous males may increase their risk of predation. This means that selection for reduced male conspicuousness in the presence of predators may be due to sexual selection resulting from altered female behavior in the face of increased predator risk. We examine this hypothesis in the field cricket, Gryllus rubens, in which male calling song attracts both conspecific females for mating and parasitoid flies (Ormia ochracea) which kill their hosts within a week. Female crickets are also parasitized by these flies as a result of associating with calling males. In northern Florida crickets that emerge in the spring are not subject to fly parasitism whereas autumn crickets encounter large numbers of flies. We predicted that autumn females should be less attracted to male song than spring females. We tested female response to male calls in a rectangular arena in which male calling song was broadcast from a speaker. Spring females readily approached the speaker but autumn females were less likely to approach and remain in the vicinity of the speaker. These results emphasize the importance of considering how risk affects the evolution of conspicuous male behavior both directly through its effect on the male and indirectly through its effect on female responses to males.
Sphere contact fatigue of a coarse‐grained Al2O3 ceramic
Authors: FETT T. , ERNST E. , RIZZI G. , MUNZ D. , BADENHEIM D. , OBERACKER R.
Published: July 2006

The opposite sphere test is an appropriate tool to determine crack‐growth exponents for fatigue under repeated contact loading. Lifetime measurements for a coarse‐grained Al2O3 are reported. To explain the fatigue exponents that strongly deviated from those obtained in cyclic bending tests, a fracture mechanics analysis was carried out. It was aimed at determining the correct stress intensity factor solution for the tests, including limited dimensions of test specimens deviating from the case of a cone crack in a half space. Cone crack development was observed microscopically and the related stress intensity factors were computed for the observed crack shape.

For modelling the fatigue behaviour, it is assumed that the fatigue effect is influenced by a reduction of the shielding term of crack growth resistance due to periodical friction between the grain‐interlock bridges in coarse‐grained alumina. This results in a loss of traction at the junctions, crack tip shielding is reduced, and the effective load at the crack tip is increased.
Mother–Child Bookreading in Low‐Income Families: Correlates and Outcomes During the First Three Years of Life
Authors: Raikes Helen , Alexander Pan Barbara , Luze Gayle , Tamis‐LeMonda Catherine S. , Brooks‐Gunn Jeanne , Constantine Jill , Banks Tarullo Louisa , Abigail Raikes H. , Rodriguez Eileen T.
Published: July 2006

About half of 2,581 low‐income mothers reported reading daily to their children. At 14 months, the odds of reading daily increased by the child being firstborn or female. At 24 and 36 months, these odds increased by maternal verbal ability or education and by the child being firstborn or of Early Head Start status. White mothers read more than did Hispanic or African American mothers. For English‐speaking children, concurrent reading was associated with vocabulary and comprehension at 14 months, and with vocabulary and cognitive development at 24 months. A pattern of daily reading over the 3 data points for English‐speaking children and daily reading at any 1 data point for Spanish‐speaking children predicted children's language and cognition at 36 months. Path analyses suggest reciprocal and snowballing relations between maternal bookreading and children's vocabulary.
Effort on Homework in Grades 5–9: Development, Motivational Antecedents, and the Association With Effort on Classwork
Authors: Trautwein Ulrich , Lüdtke Oliver , Kastens Claudia , Köller Olaf
Published: July 2006

In 2 studies, an expectancy–value framework was applied to investigate effort expended on mathematics homework. In Study 1 (2,712 students in grades 5, 7, and 9; mean age=13.37 years), lower homework effort was found in higher grades. The effects of intrinsic value on homework effort were higher in the older cohorts, whereas the effects of the expectancy component were lower. In Study 2 (571 students in grades 8 and 9; mean age=14.72), an expanded expectancy–value framework was found to explain both homework and classwork variables. The means for effort and value were lower for homework than for classwork; these differences were partly moderated by students' conscientiousness. The implications of homework behavior and motivation for developmental research are highlighted.
Developmentally Invariant Dissociations in Children's True and False Memories: Not All Relatedness Is Created Equal
Authors: Howe Mark L.
Published: July 2006

The role of categorical versus associative relations in 5‐, 7‐, and 11‐year‐old children's true and false memories was examined using the Deese–Roediger–McDermott (DRM) paradigm and categorized lists of pictures or words with or without category labels as primes. For true items, recall increased with age and categorized lists were better recalled than DRM lists. For false items, recall increased with age except for picture lists, there were no differences between categorized and DRM lists and no effect of priming, and there were fewer false memories for pictures than words. Like adults, children's false memories are based on associative not thematic relations, whereas their veridical memories depend on both. This new, developmentally invariant dissociation is consistent with knowledge‐ and resource‐based models of memory development.
Business Cycles, the Exchange Rate, and Demand for Antidumping Protection in Mexico
Authors: Niels Gunnar , Francois Joseph
Published: July 2006

Antidumping actions in the US and EU are known to be linked to macroeconomic conditions. In part, this is because positive injury findings may be easier to make in a downturn, increasing the chance of success for complainants. We explore the evidence for Mexico, one of the main “new” antidumping regimes. Injury determination is also critical in Mexico’s antidumping policy, as a majority of unsuccessful complaints have been rejected because of negative injury findings rather than negative findings of dumping. Working with data from 1987 to 2000, we provide evidence for a relationship between macroeconomic factors and antidumping complaints, including current account and exchange rate movements, and both local and global general macroeconomic conditions.
A response surface approach to tolerance design
Authors: Freek Huele A. , Engel Jan
Published: July 2006

In spite of Taguchi's robust parameter design (Introduction to quality engineering: designing quality into products and processes, 1986, Asian Productivity Organization, Tokiyo), tolerance design is still important at the design stage of products and processes. Taguchi's proposal and related methods for tolerance design, however, do not efficiently use the information that can be obtained from the parameter design experiment. In this paper, we introduce a new method for tolerance design based on the response surface approach to parameter design. It is a flexible method because non‐normal distributions of the noise factors and the quality characteristic are allowed. Moreover, it is unnecessary to perform a new physical experiment. Essentially, tolerances of noise factors are maximized, subject to constraints to ensure that the mean value of the quality characteristic remains on target and the fraction nonconforming is below a pre‐specified maximum. Some aspects of model uncertainty are discussed and the method is illustrated by means of an example.
THE DISCOVERY OF ANOMALOUSLY HIGH SILVER ABUNDANCES IN POTTERY FROM EARLY ROMAN EXCAVATION CONTEXTS IN JERUSALEM*
Authors: ADAN‐BAYEWITZ D. , ASARO F. , GIAUQUE R. D.
Published: July 2006

This is the first study on the differential distribution and concentrations of silver in ceramics recovered from archaeological excavations. The chemical compositions of 1174 pottery vessels from 38 Roman‐period sites in Israel have been determined. Unusually high and variable abundances of silver were discovered in pottery samples of all vessel types and chemical compositions from four distinct archaeological contexts dating to late first century bce to 70 ce Jerusalem. The large majority of the Jerusalem vessels could be distinguished by their silver abundances from all analysed pottery pieces recovered at rural sites outside Jerusalem, even when the pottery types and chemical compositions, except for silver, of pottery found within and outside Jerusalem were indistinguishable. The evidence is suggestive of a human origin for the high and variable silver abundances, and dispersion of the silver by aqueous transport. The differential silver concentrations found in excavated pottery from Jerusalem and other urban and rural sites suggest that attention to the distribution of silver in pottery from excavated contexts may be helpful for evaluating the nature and function of archaeological remains and patterns of urban contamination.
LEAD ISOTOPE RATIOS AS A MEANS OF SOURCING ANTHROPOGENIC LEAD IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOILS: A PILOT STUDY OF AN ABANDONED SHETLAND CROFT*
Authors: WILSON C. A. , BACON J. R. , CRESSER M. S. , DAVIDSON D. A.
Published: July 2006

Results from soil chemical analysis have demonstrated enhanced concentrations of lead (Pb) associated with archaeological sites. However, interpretation of these Pb concentrations is difficult because of the multitude of possible Pb sources. This pilot study of an abandoned croft in Shetland suggests that Pb isotope ratios have the potential to identify sources of anthropogenic Pb. The results highlight two different Pb associations. The first includes hearth, house floor and house overburden soils, with end members of fuel materials and an unidentified material with a low (< 1.126)

206

Pb/

207

Pb ratio. The second includes byre, kailyard (garden) and arable soils, with end members of hearth materials and local wind‐blown sand.
Genetic Moderators of Naltrexone's Effects on Alcohol Cue Reactivity
Authors: McGeary John E. , Monti Peter M. , Rohsenow Damaris J. , Tidey Jennifer , Swift Robert , Miranda Robert
Published: July 2006

Background: Naltrexone (NTX) reduces drinking and craving in alcoholic individuals in treatment and also in heavy drinkers. Polymorphisms in the D4 dopamine receptor (DRD4) gene and μ‐opiate receptor gene (OPRM1) may moderate NTX's effects on craving. This study examined these candidate genes as moderators of the effects of NTX on cue‐elicited urge to drink in non–treatment‐seeking heavy drinkers.

Method: Data from the subset of 93 participants who consented for genetic testing in a larger study of medication effects were used to examine pharmacogenetic hypotheses. The non–treatment‐seeking male and female heavy drinkers (62% alcohol dependent) were genotyped for the variable number of tandem repeats polymorphism in the DRD4 gene [L=7 or more (n=34), S=less than 7 (n=56)] and Asn40Asp single‐nucleotide polymorphism in the OPRM1 gene [29 aspartate (Asp) carriers and 59 asparagine (Asn) homozygotes]. Ten days after randomization to NTX (50 mg) or placebo, participants completed an alcohol cue reactivity assessment.

Results: Any medication effects were all accounted for by interaction with genotype. Naltrexone increased urge for alcohol in Asp carriers across alcohol and neutral beverage cue trials and had no effect on homozygous Asn carriers. Asp40 carriers on either medication had greater decreases (from resting baseline) in mean arterial blood pressure across all beverage cue trials compared with Asn carriers. For DRD4, no differential medication effects by DRD4 polymorphism were found. Alcohol dependence diagnosis did not moderate the effects of gene and medication on cue‐elicited measures.

Discussion: The differential responses to NTX due to variation in the OPRM1 gene may help explain conflicting results in clinical trials and suggest directions for patient‐treatment matching.
The Coomasaharn char, a morphometrically highly specialised form of Salvelinus alpinus in Ireland
Authors: Cullen P. , McCarthy T. K. , Doherty D.
Published: July 2006

Abstract –  A reputedly ‘unique’ Irish form of Arctic char, characterised by its long and numerous gill rakers and referred to as Salvelinus fimbriatus [Regan, The Annals and Magazine of Natural History2 (1908) 225], has long been known to inhabit Coomasaharn Lough in the south‐west of Ireland. However, this species description was based on a single specimen and, in the intervening period, little research on the unusual gill attributes of the char population has been published. In 2000, the char population of the lake was surveyed by gill netting. The morphometrics of the head region and the gill raker attributes of this population of Irish char were compared with two other Irish char populations. The results of this analysis highlighted the specialised morphology of the Coomasaharn char in an Irish context and demonstrated the planktivorous nature of the Coomasaharn char.
Geoffrey Chaucer's Treatise on the Astrolabe
Authors: Mead Jenna
Published: July 2006

Geoffrey Chaucer's Treatise on the Astrolabe has occasioned varied responses from readers and scholars. John Lydgate's reference, in the Fall of Princes, identified what became the critical terms for reading Chaucer's translation of an instruction manual for using an astrolabe addressed to his “sone” Lowys. Astrolabe survives in more manuscripts than any other Chaucer text with the exception of The Canterbury Tales; the Variorum edition of the text was published in 2002 and in the last five years critical attention has increasingly refocused on the text. Scholars have considered patterns of readership from extant manuscripts and details, such as the subheading “Brede and Milke for Children,” have reshaped critical analyses. Astrolabe's language and pedagogical strategies have also been reconceptualized in recent readings. The nature of “science” in the late fourteenth century has always been part of Astrolabe's critical frame but the cultural valency of astrology has moved into sharper focus producing a more sophisticated analysis of the vernacular context of Chaucer's only scientific prose text.
Propositional computability logic I
Authors: Japaridze Giorgi
Published: July 2006

In the same sense as classical logic is a formal theory of truth, the recently initiated approach called
computability logic
is a formal theory of computability. It understands (interactive) computational problems as games played by a machine against the environment, their computability as existence of a machine that always wins the game, logical operators as operations on computational problems, and validity of a logical formula as being a scheme of “always computabl ” problems. Computability logic has been introduced semantically, and now among its main technical goals is to axiomatize the set of valid formulas or various natural fragments of that set. The present contribution signifies a first step towards this goal. It gives a detailed exposition of a soundness and completeness proof for the rather new type of a deductive propositional system
CL1
, the logical vocabulary of which contains operators for the so called
parallel
and
choice
operations, and the atoms of which represent
elementary problems
, that is, predicates in the standard sense.This article is self-contained as it explains all relevant concepts. While not technically necessary, familiarity with the foundational paper “Introduction to Computability Logi ” [Annals of Pure and Applied Logic 123 (2003), pp.1-99] would greatly help the reader in understanding the philosophy, underlying motivations, potential and utility of computability logic---the context that determines the value of the present results.
Terminology-based knowledge mining for new knowledge discovery
Authors: Mima Hideki , Ananiadou Sophia , Matsushima Katsumori
Published: July 2006

In this article we present an integrated knowledge-mining system for the domain of biomedicine, in which automatic term recognition, term clustering, information retrieval, and visualization are combined. The primary objective of this system is to facilitate knowledge acquisition from documents and aid knowledge discovery through terminology-based similarity calculation and visualization of automatically structured knowledge. This system also supports the integration of different types of databases and simultaneous retrieval of different types of knowledge. In order to accelerate knowledge discovery, we also propose a visualization method for generating similarity-based knowledge maps. The method is based on real-time terminology-based knowledge clustering and categorization and allows users to observe real-time generated knowledge maps, graphically. Lastly, we discuss experiments using the GENIA corpus to assess the practicality and applicability of the system.
Reciprocity
Authors: Carr Christopher L.
Published: July 2006

Seeking a mutually beneficial relationship between IS departments and users.
A survey of research and practices of Network-on-chip
Authors: Bjerregaard Tobias , Mahadevan Shankar
Published: July 2006

The scaling of microchip technologies has enabled large scale systems-on-chip (SoC). Network-on-chip (NoC) research addresses global communication in SoC, involving (i) a move from computation-centric to communication-centric design and (ii) the implementation of scalable communication structures. This survey presents a perspective on existing NoC research. We define the following abstractions: system, network adapter, network, and link to explain and structure the fundamental concepts. First, research relating to the actual network design is reviewed. Then system level design and modeling are discussed. We also evaluate performance analysis techniques. The research shows that NoC constitutes a unification of current trends of intrachip communication rather than an explicit new alternative.
Inverted files for text search engines
Authors: Zobel Justin , Moffat Alistair
Published: July 2006

The technology underlying text search engines has advanced dramatically in the past decade. The development of a family of new index representations has led to a wide range of innovations in index storage, index construction, and query evaluation. While some of these developments have been consolidated in textbooks, many specific techniques are not widely known or the textbook descriptions are out of date. In this tutorial, we introduce the key techniques in the area, describing both a core implementation and how the core can be enhanced through a range of extensions. We conclude with a comprehensive bibliography of text indexing literature.
Improved long-period generators based on linear recurrences modulo 2
Authors: Panneton François , L'Ecuyer Pierre , Matsumoto Makoto
Published: July 2006

Fast uniform random number generators with extremely long periods have been defined and implemented based on linear recurrences modulo 2. The twisted GFSR and the Mersenne twister are famous recent examples. Besides the period length, the statistical quality of these generators is usually assessed via their equidistribution properties. The huge-period generators proposed so far are not quite optimal in this respect. In this article, we propose new generators of that form with better equidistribution and “bit-mixing” properties for equivalent period length and speed. The state of our new generators evolves in a more chaotic way than for the Mersenne twister. We illustrate how this can reduce the impact of persistent dependencies among successive output values, which can be observed in certain parts of the period of gigantic generators such as the Mersenne twister.
Nonorthogonal decomposition of binary matrices for bounded-error data compression and analysis
Authors: Koyutürk Mehmet , Grama Ananth , Ramakrishnan Naren
Published: July 2006

This article presents the design and implementation of a software tool, PROXIMUS, for error-bounded approximation of high-dimensional binary attributed datasets based on nonorthogonal decomposition of binary matrices. This tool can be used for analyzing data arising in a variety of domains ranging from commercial to scientific applications. Using a combination of innovative algorithms, novel data structures, and efficient implementation, PROXIMUS demonstrates excellent accuracy, performance, and scalability to large datasets. We experimentally demonstrate these on diverse applications in association rule mining and DNA microarray analysis. In limited beta release, PROXIMUS currently has over 300 installations in over 10 countries.
Generating object lifetime traces with Merlin
Authors: Hertz Matthew , Blackburn Stephen M. , Moss J. Eliot B. , McKinley Kathryn S. , Stefanović Darko
Published: July 2006

Programmers are writing a rapidly growing number of programs in object-oriented languages, such as Java and C#, that require garbage collection. Garbage collection traces and simulation speed up research by enabling deeper understandings of object lifetime behavior and quick exploration and design of new garbage collection algorithms. When generating perfect traces, the
brute-force
method of computing object lifetimes requires a whole-heap garbage collection at every potential collection point in the program. Because this process is prohibitively expensive, researchers often use
granulated
traces by collecting only periodically, for example, every 32 KB of allocation.We extend the state of the art for simulating garbage collection algorithms in two ways. First, we develop a systematic methodology for simulation studies of copying garbage collection and present results showing the effects of trace granularity on these simulations. We show that trace granularity often distorts simulated garbage collection results compared with perfect traces. Second, we present and measure the performance of a new algorithm called
Merlin
for computing object lifetimes. Merlin timestamps objects and later uses the timestamps of dead objects to reconstruct when they died. The Merlin algorithm piggybacks on garbage collections performed by the base system. Experimental results show that Merlin can generate traces over two orders of magnitude faster than the brute-force method which collects after every object allocation. We also use Merlin to produce visualizations of heap behavior that expose new object lifetime behaviors.
Web 2.0
Authors: Treese Win
Published: July 2006

Ten years ago (has it really been that long?), we were well into the technology hype of the World Wide Web. New technologies were going to revolutionize how we live, how businesses work---just about everything. Enormous amounts of money were invested in all kinds of Web-based ideas, from optical fiber in the ground to telecommunications equipment to online banking to selling pet food on the Internet using a sock puppet mascot.
Localized topology control for heterogeneous wireless sensor networks
Authors: Li Xiang-Yang , Song Wen-Zhan , Wang Yu
Published: July 2006

This article studies topology control in heterogeneous wireless sensor networks, where different wireless sensors may have different maximum transmission ranges and two nodes can communicate directly with each other if and only if they are within the maximum transmission range of each other. We present several localized topology control strategies in which every wireless sensor maintains logical communication links to only a selected small subset of its physical neighbors using information of sensors within its local neighborhood in a heterogeneous network environment. We prove that the global logical network topologies formed by these locally selected links are sparse and/or power efficient and our methods are communication efficient. Here a structure is power efficient if the total power consumption of the least cost path connecting any two nodes in it is no more than a small constant factor of that in the original heterogeneous communication network. By utilizing the wireless broadcast channel capability, and assuming that a message sent by a sensor node will be received by all sensors within its transmission region with at most a constant number of transmissions, we prove that all our methods use at most
O(n)
total messages, where each message has
O
(log
n
) bits. We also conduct extensive simulations to study the practical performance of our methods.
Extended subdivision surfaces
Authors: Müller Kerstin , Reusche Lars , Fellner Dieter
Published: July 2006

An extended subdivision surface (ESub) is a generalization of Catmull Clark and NURBS surfaces. Depending on the knot intervals and valences of the vertices and faces, Catmull Clark as well as NURBS patches can be generated using the extended subdivision rules. Moreover, an arbitrary choice of the knot intervals and the topology is possible. Special features like sharp edges and corners are consistently supported by setting selected knot intervals to zero or by applying special rules. Compared to the prior nonuniform rational subdivision surfaces (NURSS), the ESubs offer limit-point rules which are indispensable in many applications, for example, for computer-aided design or in adaptive visualization. The refinement and limit-point rules for our nonuniform, nonstationary scheme are obtained via a new method using local Bézier control points. With our new surface, it is possible to start with existing Catmull Clark as well as NURBS models and to continue the modeling process using the extended subdivision options.
How heavy-tailed distributions affect simulation-generated time averages
Authors: Fishman George S. , Adan Ivo J. B. F.
Published: July 2006

For statistical inference based on telecommunications network simulation, we examine the effect of a heavy-tailed file-size distribution whose corresponding density follows an inverse power law with exponent α + 1, where the shape parameter α is strictly between 1 and 2. Representing the session-initiation and file-transmission processes as an infinite-server queueing system with Poisson arrivals, we derive the transient conditional mean and covariance function that describes the number of active sessions as well as the steady-state counterparts of these moments. Assuming the file size (service time) for each session follows the Lomax distribution, we show that the variance of the sample mean for the time-averaged number of active sessions tends to zero as the power of 1 − α of the simulation run length. Therefore, impractically large sample-path lengths are required to achieve point estimators with acceptable levels of statistical accuracy. This study compares the accuracy of point estimators based on the Lomax distribution with those for lognormal and Weibull file-size distributions whose parameters are determined by matching their means and a selected extreme quantile with those of the Lomax. Both alternatives require shorter run lengths than the Lomax to achieve a given level of accuracy. Although the lognormal requires longer sample paths than the Weibull, it better approximates the Lomax and leads to practicable run lengths in almost all scenarios.
Understanding service sector innovation
Authors: Sheehan Jerry
Published: July 2006

The future of the service economy depends on worldwide appreciation, dedication, and encouragement of innovation as a key component.
What academic research tells us about service
Authors: Rust Roland T. , Miu Carol
Published: July 2006

A computing-driven revolution is under way in the global economy guided by the principle that every business must become a service business in order to survive.
FILIB++, a fast interval library supporting containment computations
Authors: Lerch Michael , Tischler German , Gudenberg Jürgen Wolff Von , Hofschuster Werner , Krämer Walter
Published: July 2006

filib++ is an extension of the interval library filib originally developed at the University of Karlsruhe. The most important aim of filib is the fast computation of guaranteed bounds for interval versions of a comprehensive set of elementary functions. filib++ extends this library in two aspects. First, it adds a second mode, the extended mode, that extends the exception-free computation mode (using special values to represent infinities and NaNs known from the IEEE floating-point standard 754) to intervals. In this mode, the so-called containment sets are computed to enclose the topological closure of a range of a function over an interval. Second, our new design uses templates and traits classes to obtain an efficient, easily extendable, and portable C++ library.
Ray tracing animated scenes using coherent grid traversal
Authors: Wald Ingo , Ize Thiago , Kensler Andrew , Knoll Aaron , Parker Steven G.
Published: July 2006

We present a new approach to interactive ray tracing of moderate-sized animated scenes based on traversing frustum-bounded packets of coherent rays through uniform grids. By incrementally computing the overlap of the frustum with a slice of grid cells, we accelerate grid traversal by more than a factor of 10, and achieve ray tracing performance competitive with the fastest known packet-based kd-tree ray tracers. The ability to efficiently rebuild the grid on every frame enables this performance even for fully dynamic scenes that typically challenge interactive ray tracing systems.