bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
In situ — High Temperature Mössbauer Spectroscopy of Iron Nitrides and Nitridoferrates
Authors: Ksenofontov V. , Reiman S. , Waldeck M. , Niewa R. , Kniep R. , Gütlich P.
Published: September 2003

The stoichiometric iron nitrides γ′‐Fe4N, ε‐Fe3N and ζ‐Fe2N were characterized by Mössbauer spectroscopy. The thermal decomposition of ε‐Fe3N was studied in‐situ by means of a specially developed Mössbauer furnace. We found ε‐Fe3N to γ′‐Fe4N and ε‐Fe3Nx (x ≥ 1.3) as decomposition products and determined the border of γ′/ε transformation at T ≅ 930 K. Mössbauer spectroscopy was applied to study in‐situ the thermal decomposition of the nitridometalate Li3[FeIIIN2] and the formation of Li2[(Li1‐xFeIx)N], the compound with the largest local magnetic field ever observed in an iron containing material. The kinetics of formation and the stability of Li2[(Li1‐xFeIx)N] was of particular interest in the present study.
An in‐situ Mössbauer Study of the Formation of Cementite, Fe3C
Authors: Kniep B. , Constantinescu A. , Niemeier D. , Becker K. D.
Published: September 2003

The formation of cementite, Fe3C, from thin iron foils has been studied at 550 and 650 °C by means of in‐situ Mössbauer spectroscopy. At 550 °C, the kinetics of the reaction have been determined from time‐resolved experiments performed at different carbon activities. The product formation follows a two‐step process exhibiting two different kinetic regimes. The slow initial stages of the reaction as well as its rapid final part can be described by an Avrami‐type kinetics with a characteristic parameter of n = 3/2.
On the Reactivity of Silver Electrodes in a Chlorine Radiofrequency Plasma — Plasma Oxidation vs. Thermal Oxidation
Authors: Vennekamp M. , Janek J.
Published: September 2003

The plasma‐electrochemical growth of an ion‐conducting film by the oxidation of a metal in an electronegative plasma is investigated and compared with results from thermal oxidation. As model system we studied the oxidation kinetics of silver electrodes in a Cl2 rf plasma. The electrochemical control of the reaction by external currents through the product layer using the plasma as a fluid electrode was achieved. Both potentiostatic and galvanostatic control of the reaction was applied. The morphology of the product layer and its temporal evolution was investigated using SEM. A formation of silver chloride surface patterns in the oxidation process takes place if a simple stability criterion is not fulfilled. Specific surface morphologies were found under different experimental conditions. The morphology of the product layer is influenced by the external electric current and the substrate temperature. The influence of the plasma phase on the thermodynamics and kinetics of the oxidation process is discussed. The role of excited plasma species, the electrical charging of the surface and radiation from the plasma are taken into account.
Charge Transfer and Chemical Hardness along a Substitution Path in Metastable Au‐Sb Alloys
Authors: Stückl A. Claudia , Rau Franz , Weihrich Richard
Published: September 2003

In the present study the synthesis of metastable alloys of the noble metal Au and the semimetal Sb is realized by using high pressure techniques. The influence of Au on bulk Sb is shown experimentally by stepwise substitution. In addition to the effect of the most electronegative noble metal on Pauling's scale in the binary Au‐Sb phases, some ternary compounds with In, Sn, As, and Te in addition to Au and Sb are discussed. The experiments are planned to obtain a better knowledge on the reasons for building up a simple cubic Sb partial lattice, and their crystallographic results are used to construct model structures for new electronic structure calculations from first principles on the metastable π‐phases. Using the LCAO‐COansatzand density‐functional methods, we study total energies, band structures, densities of states and charge transfer properties according to Bader's method by integrating zero flux surfaces. Finally, from electronic band structure analysis, the quantities “chemical potential” μ, and “chemical hardness”, η, are derived according to the original ideas ofPearsonandParrand are applied to solid state problems using special points of the Brillouin zones within a band structure approximation for the first time. The results are shown to support the experimental findings about the substitution path within the system Au‐Sb.
On Mercury(I) Oxo Compounds — Quasi‐Relativistic Computational and Experimental Studies
Authors: Wang S. G. , Qiu Y.X. , Neumann E. , Deiseroth H. J. , Schwarz W. H. Eugen
Published: September 2003

About 60 molecular species composed of up to 10 mercury atoms and of oxygen atoms and/or of some other elements or groups (such as halogen, OH2, OH, H, alkali, NO3) have been investigated quantum chemically. Different density functional approaches and theab initioSCF‐MP2 method were applied, comparing different basis sets and different atomic core sizes. It is important not to treat the Hg 5s, p, d as inactive core shells, and to use sufficiently many polarization functions.

The shape of the 〉O‐Hg‐Hg‐O〈 units is not favorable concerning the formation of lattices composed of HgI, O and OH only. Despite its bulkiness, the OHgHgO units can easily come into contact with each other and then disproportionate. This is prevented in the so‐called ternary M‐HgIoxides by the embedded oxometallate (oxoacidic) anions. Furthermore, the HgIand HgIIoxide bond energies are less favorable towards the stability of HgIoxo compounds, as compared to Hg halidic or oxoacidic compounds. Both points are not promising concerning the search for HgIoxides/hydroxides, although the preparation of such compounds, including spacer groups, by topochemical reactions can still not be excluded.

So far, experimental efforts towards the synthesis of such a new class of compounds have only demonstrated that HgIIis strictly preferred over HgIin the formation of solids of binary Hg‐O or ternary A‐Hg‐O composition (A = electropositive metal such as alkali, in contrast to M = transition or semi‐metal). This is so even if compounds containing ‘electron rich Hgδ—atoms’ (i.e. A‐Hg amalgams) are oxidized under mild conditions.
Development of a Novel Closed Loop UHV‐Apparatus for Coulometric Titrations of Oxygen by Means of λ‐Probes in Three‐Electrode‐Arrangement
Authors: Keller Hans‐Lothar , Wilk Peter
Published: September 2003

A novel apparatus is described that does not only allow a very wide range of oxygen concentrations to be tuned in and gauged but also facilitates a direct observation of ongoing reactions within. It is principally built up of tubular lambda‐probes made of yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and resembles a closed loop installation, enabling a total control of the inside atmosphere. Long term reactions inside the installation may be observed optically. First results of observed reactions are shown.
Kinetics of Oxidation Processes in the System Co/Ga studied by in situ X‐Ray Diffraction
Authors: Koops Ulrich , Martin Manfred
Published: September 2003

Oxidation processes in the system Co/Ga were studied by in situ X‐ray diffraction at temperatures between 800 and 1000 °C. Experiments were performed with metal powders and planar substrates. Oxidation of cobalt‐rich alloys, Co1‐xGax, results in the formation of mixtures of cobalt‐ and gallium‐containing oxides. During oxidation of the intermetallic compounds CoGa and CoGa3 only gallium is oxidized, and dense tarnishing layers of β‐Ga2O3 are formed. In all cases the oxide products are only intermediate products on the way to thermodynamic equilibrium, i.e. total oxidation of both metals. The kinetics during oxidation of the intermetallic compound CoGa was studied in detail by time resolved in situ X‐ray diffraction. After an induction time the kinetics can be described by a parabolic rate law with an activation energy of 312 kJ mol—1. From the decrease of the parabolic rate constant with decreasing oxygen partial pressure and the observation of pore formation at the metal‐oxide interface it can be concluded that (i) outward diffusion of Ga‐ions through β‐Ga2O3 is the rate determining step during this solid state reaction, and (ii) Ga‐ions are mobile by means of gallium vacancies.
Reactivity of Ammonium Halides: Action of Ammonium Chloride and Bromide on Iron and Iron(III) Chloride and Bromide
Authors: Bremm Stephan , Meyer Gerd
Published: September 2003

Ammonium chloride and bromide, (NH4)Cl and (NH4)Br, act on elemental iron producing divalent iron in [Fe(NH3)2]Cl2 and [Fe(NH3)2]Br2, respectively, as single crystals at temperatures around 450 °C. Iron(III) chloride and bromide, FeCl3 and FeBr3, react with (NH4)Cl and (NH4)Br producing the erythrosiderites (NH4)2[Fe(NH3)Cl5] and (NH4)2[Fe(NH3)Br5], respectively, at fairly low temperatures (350 °C). At higher temperatures, 400 °C, iron(III) in (NH4)2[Fe(NH3)Cl5] is reduced to iron(II) forming (NH4)FeCl3 and, further, [Fe(NH3)2]Cl2 in an ammonia atmosphere. The reaction (NH4)Br + Fe (4:1) leads at 500 °C to the unexpected hitherto unknown [Fe(NH3)6]3[Fe8Br14], a mixed‐valent FeII/FeI compound. Thermal analysis under ammonia and the conditions of DTA/TG and powder X‐ray diffractometry shows that, for example, FeCl2 reacts with ammonia yielding in a strongly exothermic reaction [Fe(NH3)6]Cl2 that at higher temperatures produces [Fe(NH3)]Cl2, FeCl2 and, finally, Fe3N.
New low-frequency waves and negative mass instability in dusty plasmas
Authors: RESENDES D. P. , BINGHAM R. , GUERREIO A. , TSYTOVICH V. N.
Published: September 2003

Low-frequency dusty plasma waves with frequencies much smaller than the frequency of charging collisions of plasma particles with dust particles are considered, taking into account elastic and charging collisions of plasma particles with dust and with neutrals. The usual dust sound waves with an upper frequency equal to the dust plasma frequency are found to be present only for wavelengths much smaller than the plasma particle effective mean free path due to the effective collision frequency. The effective collision frequency is found to be inversely proportional to the square root of the product of the charging frequency and the frequency of particle momentum losses, involving processes due to elastic plasma particle–dust collisions, and collisions with neutrals. It is shown that when the wavelength of the wave is much larger than the mean free path for effective collisions the properties of the waves are different from those previously considered. A negative mass instability is found in this domain of frequencies when the effective mean free path of ions is larger than the effective mean free path of electrons. In the absence of neutrals this appears to be possible only if the temperature of ions exceeds the electron temperature. This can occur in laboratory experiments and space plasmas but not in plasma-etching experiments. In the absence of instability a new dust oscillation, a dust charging mode, is found the frequency of which is almost constant over a certain range of wavenumbers. It is inversely proportional to the dust mass and charging frequency of the dust. A new dust electron sound wave is found for frequencies less than the frequency of the dust charging mode. The velocity of the dust electron sound wave is determined by the electron temperature but not the ion temperatures, as for the usual dust sound waves, with the electron temperature exceeding the ion temperature substantially.
Microinstabilities excited by energetic ring current protons
Authors: MOOLLA S. , BHARUTHRAM R.
Published: September 2003

It is well known that energetic protons having a ring-type, anisotropic velocity distribution can generate low-frequency electromagnetic waves, propagating nearly transverse to the geomagnetic field lines, in the ring current region of the Earth's magnetosphere by exciting mode 1 and mode 2 non-resonant instabilities and a resonant instability. In this paper, detailed investigations of the resonant and non-resonant instabilities are conducted as a function of plasma parameters such as ring speeds, electron temperatures, magnetic field strength and wave propagation directions. Our analysis is for parameters corresponding to the ring current region of the Earth's magnetosphere.
Degenerate continuous spectra producing localized secular instability – an example in a non-neutral plasma
Authors: HIROTA M. , TATSUNO T. , YOSHIDA Z.
Published: September 2003

Fluctuations in ambient shear flow exhibit interesting transient phenomena. Shear flow produces not only Kelvin–Helmholtz modes (global exponential instabilities represented by point spectra) but also local algebraic instabilities associated with multiple continuous spectra. Since the generating operator is non-Hermitian, the orthogonality of eigenmodes is broken, and unresolvable mode couplings (resonances) bring about secular behavior (algebraic instability). We analyze electrostatic fluctuations in a magnetized non-neutral (single species) plasma where the electrostatic potential parallels the stream function. This secular behavior is reproduced by solving the initial value problem with a renormalization method.
Stability of the Landau resonance for drift modes in rotating tokamak plasma
Authors: ASP E. , PAVLENKO V. P. , REVENCHUK S. M.
Published: September 2003

The linear stability of drift waves in a poloidally rotating tokamak plasma is considered. The derived dispersion relation features a peaking of the diamagnetic frequency which gives the drift modes an irreducible two-dimensional character. We then show that inverse Landau damping can be suppressed and even stabilized, if the flow's shear is strong. Even though the instability, excited by the Landau resonance, is stronger at a high velocity shear for positive rotation velocities, effects due to the rotation of the plasma can reverse the sign and induce damping of the two-dimensional drift modes. This stabilizing mechanism works only for positive rotation velocities. For negative rotation velocities, we show that only modes with high poloidal mode numbers are unstable.
Single-event high-compression inertial confinement fusion at low temperatures compared with two-step fast ignitor
Authors: HORA H. , MILEY G. H. , OSMAN F. , EVANS P. , TOUPS P. , MIMA K. , MURAKAMI M. , NAKAI S. , NISHIHARA K. , YAMANAKA C. , YAMANAKA T.
Published: September 2003

Compression of plasmas with laser pulses in the 10-kJ range produced densities in the range of 1000 times that of the solid state, where however the temperatures within a few hundred eV were rather low. This induced the fast ignitor scheme for central or peripheral deposition of some 10-kJ ps laser pulses on conventional $n_{\rm s}$-precompressed DT plasma of 3000 times solid-state density. We present results where the ps ignition is avoided and only a single-event conventional compression is used. Following our computations of volume ignition and the excellent agreement with measured highest fusion gains of volume compression, we found conditions where compression to 5000 times that of the solid state and by using laser pulses of 10 MJ produce volume ignition with temperatures between 400 and 800 eV only for high-gain volume ignition.
Dielectric conductivity of a bounded plasma and its rate of convergence towards its infinite-geometry value
Authors: OMNES PASCAL
Published: September 2003

This paper deals with the linear response of a plasma in a one-dimensional bounded geometry under the action of a time-periodic electric field. The nonlinear Vlasov equation is solved by following the characteristic curves until they reach the boundary of the domain, where the distribution function of the incoming particles is supposed to be known and independent of time. Then, a first-order Taylor expansion in the velocity variable is performed, thanks to an approximation of the exact characteristics by the unperturbed ones. The resulting first-order correction to the distribution function is finally integrated over velocities to yield the dielectric function. The special case of a plane wave for the electric field is examined and the results are compared with the more usual unbounded case: the integral does not present any singularity in the vicinity of resonant particles and the dielectric function depends on the distance to the boundary and tends to the usual infinite-geometry value when this distance tends to infinity, with a rate of convergence proportional to its inverse square root. Numerical examples are provided for illustration.
Determination of minimum magnetic energy states in frozen plasmas
Authors: PAOLA C. A. , PLATZECK A. M.
Published: September 2003

As is known, the minimum magnetic energy state for a frozen plasma, subject to the infinite topological constraints, corresponds to a nonlinear force-free field. The magnetic flux invariance in ideal magnetohydrodynamics is possible in important astrophysical applications. We develop a method for explicitly obtaining a minimum energy state starting from an arbitrary initial state. This method does not require the explicit use of the invariance of the differential magnetic helicities. It is particularly useful when the minimum magnetic energy state for the given topological structure is unique. We show examples of the application of the method for this kind of system.
Identity, Individuality, and Unity
Authors: Lowe E. J.
Published: September 2003

Locke notoriously included number amongst the primary
qualities of bodies and was roundly criticized for doing so by Berkeley.
Frege echoed some of Berkeley's criticisms in attacking the idea that ‘Number
is a property of external things’, while defending his own view that number is a
property of concepts. In the present paper, Locke's view is defended against
the objections of Berkeley and Frege, and Frege's alternative view of number is
criticized. More precisely, it is argued that numbers are assignable to pluralities
of individuals. However, it is also argued that Locke went too far in asserting
that ‘Number applies itself to ... everything that either doth exist, or can be imagined’.
Williams on Ethics, Knowledge, and Reflection
Authors: Moore A. W.
Published: September 2003

The author begins with an outline of Bernard William's moral philosophy, within which he locates William's notorious doctrine that reflection can destroy ethical knowledge. He then gives a partial defence of this doctrine, exploiting an analogy between ethical judgements and tensed judgements. The basic idea is that what the passage of time does for the latter, reflection can do for the former: namely, prevent the re-adoption of an abandoned point of view (an ethical point of view in the one case, a temporal point of view in the other). In the final section the author says a little about how reflection might do this.
Moral Character and Social Science Research
Authors: Montmarquet James
Published: September 2003

Gilbert Harman and John Doris (among others) have maintained that experimental studies of human behaviour give good grounds for denying the very existence of moral character. This research, according to Harman and Doris, shows human behaviour to be dependent not on character but mainly on one's ‘situation.’ My paper develops a number of criticisms of this view, among them that social science experiments are ill-suited to study character, insofar as they do not estimate the role of character in continuously shaping the direction of one's life—including what situations one is apt to get into in the first place.
How should we conceive of Time?
Authors: Dummett Michael
Published: September 2003

A (would-be) sophisticated answer to the question of the title might
be, ‘The question is senseless. We should not conceive of time at all.
We should just get on with our ordinary lives, asking and answering
the usual questions, such as “What Time is it?”, “How long will it
take?”, and so on, which we understand perfectly well. St. Augustine
understood such questions, phrased in Latin, as well as we do. He
should have been content with that, instead of bothering his head
with the misbegotten metaphysical question, “What is time?”’.
Financial Interventionism and Liberalization in Southern Europe: State, Bankers, and the Politics of Disinflation
Authors: Pagoulatos George
Published: September 2003

The article provides a structural and political account of financial intervention in Spain, Portugal and Greece and examines competing explanations for financial liberalization. It focuses on the economic and political objectives underlying financial reform, and the costs and benefits for government, central bank, and the banking sector. It argues that financial liberalization was, to a significant extent a necessary prerequisite for the central banks' programmatic effort to achieve effective disinflation. This challenges the dominant arguments viewing financial liberalization exclusively within the framework of the European financial integration program or as a result of interest group pressure. At a subsequent stage, a stabilization strategy based on monetary austerity entailed the significant political advantage of allowing governments to avoid a more radical pace of fiscal adjustment. Both financial interventionism and liberalization displayed a state-driven policy pattern.
‘Wat We Zelf Doen, Doen We Beter’; Belgian Substate Nationalisms,
Congruence and Public Policy
Authors: Erk Jan
Published: September 2003

This study assesses the impact nationalism has on public policies in ethno-linguistically divided societies. In particular, focus is on the institutional changes from nation-wide systems to Flemish and Francophone halves in Belgian education and mass media. The explanation is a society-based one, which highlights the impact of society on institutions rather than the more common opposite. Evidence demonstrates the role played by the ethno-linguistic structure in promoting the direction of change. Many issues which divide societies and engender political partisanship were subsumed under the question communautaire until a sufficient degree of congruence between the underlying social structure and political institutions was attained.
Pour une description textuelle et discursive de l'expression anaphorique ledit N
Authors: WHITTAKER SUNNIVA
Published: September 2003

Le présent article vise à décrire les particularités textuelles et discursives de l'expression anaphorique Ledit N. La première partie de l'étude est consacrée au mode de donation référentielle de Ledit N. La spécificité de cette expression réside dans le fait que l'identification de la source d'interprétation se fait par le biais du texte et non par le biais de la mémoire discursive, à la différence des autres expressions anaphoriques. La deuxième partie porte sur l'emploi de Ledit N dans trois types de textes différents: textes l'gislatifs, journalistiques et littéraires. La comparaison de ces trois sous-corpus a pour objectif de mettre en évidence les différents effets discursifs que peut induire Ledit N.
Finite-State Description of the French Determiner system
Authors: SILBERZTEIN MAX
Published: September 2003

This article describes a large-coverage formalisation of a French determiner system that includes simple words such as “le” (the), compounds such as “la plupart des” (most of), and more complex sequences such as “toute une partie de ce groupe de” (a whole part of this group of). The grammar is available in the form of a library of 150 Finite-State graphs and is compiled into a Minimal Deterministic Finite-State Transducer of over 5,000 states and 113,000 transitions.
Emploi du ‘futur’ dans le français parlé des élèves d'immersion française
Authors: NADASDI TERRY , MOUGEON RAYMOND , REHNER KATHERINE
Published: September 2003

Notre étude porte sur l'acquisition des variantes du futur par les élèves d'immersion. Tous comme les locuteurs L1, ces élèves emploient trois variantes (le futur périphrastique; le futur fléchi et le présent de l'indicatif) et ils le font au même niveau de fréquence: le futur périphrastique est de loin la plus fréquente. Nous discutons des facteurs éducatifs et sociologiques auxquels on peut attribuer ces résultats inattendus. Ceci dit, les élèves d'immersion expriment aussi parfois le futur avec des formes verbales non natives qui font l'objet d'une étude spéciale. Nous terminons par une micro-étude des variantes du futur périphrastique à la 1ère personne du singulier.
Vowel Devoicing in Contemporary French
Authors: SMITH CAROLINE L.
Published: September 2003

Fagyal and Moisset (1999) suggested that vowel devoicing in standard French occurs most often in phrase-final high vowels. An experiment testing the effect of both immediate segmental context and sentence-level contextual factors was conducted to further identify the linguistic features involved. Six French speakers were recorded reading test sentences. Devoicing only occurred in sentence-final vowels, but in more contexts than expected. From a cross-linguistic perspective the distribution of devoicing in French is unusual. Final position is prosodically prominent in French, whereas in many languages devoicing is a form of vowel reduction associated with lack of prominence. Different physical mechanisms may therefore be responsible.
Markedness, Faithfulness, Vowel Quality and Syllable Structure in French
Authors: FÉRY CAROLINE
Published: September 2003

The quality of vowels in French depends to a large extent on the kind of syllables they are in. Tense vowels are often in open syllables and lax vowels in closed ones. This generalisation, which has been called loi de position in the literature, is often overridden by special vowel-consonant co-occurrence restrictions obscuring this law. The article shows first that the admission of semisyllables in the phonology of French explains a large number of counterexamples. Many final closing consonants on the phonetic representation can be understood as onsets of following rime-less syllables, opening in this way the last full syllable. Arguments coming from phonotactic regularities support this analysis. The second insight of the article is that Optimality Theory is a perfect framework to account for the intricate data bearing on the relationship between vowels and syllable structure. The loi de position is an effect dubbed Emergence of the Unmarked, instantiated only in case no higher-ranking constraint renders it inactive.
Preparing for community violence: Mood and behavioral correlates of the second Rodney King verdicts
Authors: Swendsen Joel David , Norman Sloan
Published: September 2003

This prospective investigation applied the Experience Sampling Method to examine the mood and behavioral responses of individuals facing the risk of community violence (in anticipation of the second Rodney King verdicts). Threatened participants experienced more negative affect and were less stable in behavioral involvement than individuals not under threat. Threatened participants also avoided social contact except for well‐known individuals, and were more likely to be traveling than nonthreatened participants. Social contact with family or close friends and being at home (one's own home or the home of familiar individuals) were associated with large reductions in negative affect for those at risk for urban violence. The findings are discussed in terms of risk factors for trauma following community‐wide stressors.
Correlates of psychological distress following armed robbery
Authors: Harrison Christine A. , Kinner Stuart A.
Published: September 2003

Although mental health professionals have long been aware of the impact of traumatic events, it was not until 1980 that the term posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was introduced into the DSM‐III. Since then, one major goal of research has been to identify factors associated with distress following trauma; as yet, few reliable indicators have emerged. Within the population of armed robbery victims, this is particularly true. The purpose of this study was to investigate possible correlates of posttrauma distress in armed robbery victims, and to assess the overall level of distress within this group. A questionnaire was mailed out to 57 robbery victims, aged 15 to 65, who were recruited as study volunteers via community outreach. Severity of the trauma, vulnerability attributions, and avoidant coping were significantly related to distress level, and victims exhibited a high level of distress.
The quality of the intimate relationships of male Vietnam veterans: Problems associated with posttraumatic stress disorder
Authors: Riggs David S. , Byrne Christina A. , Weathers Frank W. , Litz Brett T.
Published: September 2003

This study examined the quality of the intimate relationships of male Vietnam veterans. Heterosexual couples in which the veteran had posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; n = 26) were compared to couples in which the veteran did not have PTSD (n = 24). Over 70% of the PTSD veterans and their partners reported clinically significant levels of relationship distress compared to only about 30% of the non‐PTSD couples. Relationship difficulties appeared to encompass a wide range of areas, with PTSD veterans and their partners reporting that they had more problems in their relationships, more difficulties with intimacy, and had taken more steps toward separation and divorce than the non‐PTSD veterans and their partners. The degree of relationship distress was correlated with the severity of veterans' PTSD symptoms, particularly symptoms of emotional numbing. Research and clinical implications of the results are discussed.
Female partners' estimations of male veterans' combat‐related PTSD severity
Authors: Gallagher James G. , Riggs David S. , Byrne Christina A. , Weathers Frank W.
Published: September 2003

This study investigated concordance between male Vietnam veterans' and their female partners' reports of veterans' posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Fifty male Vietnam combat veterans and their partners rated the severity of their own PTSD symptoms. Also, partners rated the severity of veterans' symptoms. Results indicated modest levels of agreement in reports of symptom presence/absence. Partner ratings of veterans' PTSD severity were positively correlated with veteran reports and partners' own self‐reported PTSD symptoms. After controlling for veterans' self‐reported symptoms, partners' symptoms significantly predicted their estimates of veterans' avoidance symptoms, but not veterans' reexperiencing or hyperarousal symptoms. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Responses to civilian war experiences: Predictors of psychological functioning and coping
Authors: Michultka Denise , Blanchard Edward B. , Kalous Tom
Published: September 2003

This study investigated civilian war trauma in Central American refugees, focusing on the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as related to war experience and demographic characteristics. Sixty eight percent of the refugees met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Diagnosis was best predicted by number of war experiences, severity of war trauma and level of anxiety/depression. Higher numbers of war experiences predicted PTSD severity, as did involvement in the legalization process, parenthood, and being a citizen of EI Salvador. In examining the PTSD symptom cluster scores, it was found that number of war experiences was a significant predictor in all clusters. These results are helpful in increasing our knowledge about the role of war experiences in civilian PTSD and the unique situation of the Central American refugees.
Suicidal behavior after severe trauma. Part 2: The association between methods of torture and of suicidal ideation in posttraumatic stress disotrder
Authors: Ferrada‐Noli Marcello , Asberg Marie , Ormstad Kari
Published: September 2003

The study reports on 65 refugees with diagnoses of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and manifest suicidal behavior (40% had suicide attempts; 29% detailed suicide plan; 31% recurrent suicidal thoughts). Our hypothesis was that the predominant kind of stressful experience in PTSD patients might be reflected in their choice of method when pondering or attempting suicide. Relationships were found to exist between the main stressors and the respective subjects' preference for suicide method. Particularly among PTSD patients with a history of torture, an association was found between the torture methods that the victim had been exposed to, and the suicide method used in ideation or attempts. Blunt force applied to the head and body was associated with jumping from a height or in front of trains, water torture with drowning, or sharp force torture with methods involving self‐inflicted stabbing or cutting. Relationships between main stressors and content of suicidal ideation are discussed.
Relationship between trauma narratives and trauma pathology
Authors: Amir Nader , Stafford Jane , Freshman Melinda S. , Foa Edna B.
Published: September 2003

In this study we examined the relationship between posttrauma pathology and the level of articulation (complexity) in rape narratives recounted by victims shortly after the assault. Degree of articulation was operationalized as the reading level of the narratives as determined by a computer program. Shortly after the trauma, reading level was correlated with severity of anxiety but not with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Degree of the narrative articulation shortly after the trauma, however, was related to severity of later PTSD. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the less developed trauma narratives hinder recovery from trauma.
Heart rate and blood pressure resting levels and responses to generic stressors in Vietnam veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder
Authors: Orr Scott P. , Meyerhoff James L. , Edwards Joely V. , Pitman Roger K.
Published: September 2003

Resting heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured on 3 successive mornings in the homes of drug‐free Vietnam combat veterans, classified on the basis of DSM‐III‐R criteria into current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; n = 20) or non‐PTSD (n = 15). Responses to three generic stressor challenges (orthostatic, mental arithmetic, and cold pressor) were also measured. In the orthostatic stressor condition, DBP increased over time in the non‐PTSD, but not in the PTSD, veterans, suggesting a paradoxically reduced autonomic response in PTSD. There were no other significant group differences in resting levels or responses to any of the challenges for any measure.
Convergent validity of three posttraumatic symptoms inventories among adult sexual abuse survivors
Authors: Gold Jeffrey W. , Cardeña Etzel
Published: September 2003

We examined the convergent validity of three posttraumatic symptoms inventories, the civilian version of the Mississippi Scale for Combat‐Related PTSD (CM‐PTSD), the Trauma Symptom Checklist‐40 (TSC‐40), and the Response to Childhood Incest Questionnaire (RCIQ), in a sample of 52 adult sexual abuse survivors. The significant and moderate to strong correlations (r = .6 or higher) among these inventories supported their convergent validity. Comparison with other studies also suggests that these instruments can adequately discriminate clinical from nonclinical populations.
“Forward psychiatry” in the military: Its origins and effectiveness
Authors: Jones Edgar , Wessely Simon
Published: September 2003

“Forward psychiatry” was devised in World War I for the treatment of shell shock and today is the standard intervention for combat stress reaction. It relied on three principles: proximity to battle, immediacy, and expectation of recovery, subsequently given the acronym “PIE”. Both US and UK forces belatedly reintroduced PIE methods during World War II to return servicemen to active duty and made confident claims for its efficacy. Advanced treatment units also appeared to have minimized psychiatric battle casualties during Korean and Vietnamese Wars. Evaluations of its use by Israeli forces in the Lebanon conflict showed higher return‐to‐duty rates than at base hospitals. A reexamination of these examples suggests that reported outcomes tended to exaggerate its effectiveness both as a treatment for acute stress reaction and as a prophylaxis for chronic disorders such as PTSD. It remains uncertain who is being served by the intervention: whether it is the individual soldier or the needs of the military.
Treatment of carnitine deficiency
Authors: Winter S. C.
Published: September 2003

Summary: Carnitine deficiency is a secondary complication of many inborn errors of metabolism. Pharmacological treatment with carnitine not only corrects the deficiency, it facilitates removal of accumulating toxic acyl intermediates and the generation of mitochondrial free coenzyme A (CoA). The United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) approved the use of carnitine for the treatment of inborn errors of metabolism in 1992. This approval was based on retrospective chart analysis of 90 patients, with 18 in the untreated cohort and 72 in the treated cohort. Efficacy was evaluated on the basis of clinical and biochemical findings. Compelling data included increased excretion of disease‐specific acylcarnitine derivatives in a dose–response relationship, decreased levels of metabolites in the blood, and improved clinical status with decreased hospitalization frequency, improved growth and significantly lower mortality rates as compared to historical controls. Complications of carnitine treatment were few, with gastrointestinal disturbances and odour being the most frequent. No laboratory or clinical safety issues were identified. Intravenous carnitine preparations were also approved for treatment of secondary carnitine deficiency. Since only 25% of enteral carnitine is absorbed and gastrointestinal tolerance of high doses is poor, parenteral carnitine treatment is an appealing alternative therapeutic approach. In 7 patients treated long term with high‐dose weekly to daily venous boluses of parenteral carnitine through a subcutaneous venous port, benefits included decreased frequency of decompensations, improved growth, improved muscle strength and decreased reliance on medical foods with liberalization of protein intake. Port infections were the most troubling complication. Theoretical concerns continue to be voiced that carnitine might result in fatal arrhythmias in patients with long‐chain fat metabolism defects. No published clinical studies substantiate these concerns. Carnitine treatment of inborn errors of metabolism is a safe and integral part of the treatment regime for these disorders.
Mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation: Pitfalls and tips in measuring and interpreting enzyme activities
Authors: Chretien D. , Rustin P.
Published: September 2003

Summary: Mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) is fundamental in all aspects of cellular life in aerobic cells and organisms. It is therefore not surprising that a variety of diseases have been attributed to dysfunction of the OXPHOS enzymes. Assessment of OXPHOS in human samples has proved to be a difficult task over years, even when relying on well‐established methods. The complexity and the flexibility of the mitochondrial organization in cells account for a large part in the difficulties encountered in assessing OXPHOS activity. Nevertheless, a careful and detailed analysis of OXPHOS enzyme activity in cells or biopsy samples from patients at risk provides ↑ diagnosis of potential OXPHOS deficiency. Problems inherent in the use of human material, mostly the small size of the samples to be analysed, are difficult to resolve. However, cautious handling of these samples permits reasonable confidence to be reached in the interpretation of the data.
Criminal victimization, posttraumatic stress disorder, and comorbid psychopathology among a community sample of women
Authors: Boudreaux Edwin , Kilpatrick G. , Resnick Heidi S. , Best Connie L. , Saunders Benjamin E.
Published: September 2003

This paper provides information on the relation between victimization status, crime factors, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and several other psychological disorders among a community sample of women. Results indicated that victims of crime were more likely than nonvictims to suffer from PTSD, major depressive episode, agoraphobia, obsessive‐compulsive disorder, social phobia, and simple phobia. Furthermore, life threat was associated with increased risk of major depression, agoraphobia, obsessive‐compulsive disorder, and social phobia. Completed rape was strongly related to almost every disorder assessed, while robbery and burglary were not related to any disorder. When demographics, victimization status, and crime factors were entered hierarchically into multivariate logistic regressions with PTSD in the final step, associations between victimization status, other crime characteristics (e.g., life threat, injury), and non‐PTSD Axis I disorders were greatly reduced. This suggests that PTSD may be an important mediating factor in the victimization‐psychopathology relation for many disorders.
A review of primary hereditary optic neuropathies
Authors: Votruba M. , Aijaz S. , Moore A. T.
Published: September 2003

Summary: The primary inherited optic neuropathies are a heterogeneous group of disorders that result in loss of retinal ganglion cells, leading to the clinical appearance of optic atrophy. They affect between 1:10 000 to 1:50 000 people. The main clinical features are a reduction in visual acuity, colour vision abnormalities, centro‐caecal visual field defects and pallor of the optic nerve head. Electrophysiological testing shows a normal flash electroretinogram, absentor delayed pattern visually evoked potentials suggestive of a conduction deficit and N95 waveform reduction on the pattern electroretinogram, consistent with a primary ganglion cell pathology. The primary inherited optic neuropathies may be sporadic or familial. The mode of inheritance may be autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, X‐linked recessive or mitochondrial. Within each of these groups, the phenotypic characteristics vary in such features as the mode and age of onset, the severity of the visual loss, the colour deficit and the overall prognosis. A number of different genes (most as yet unidentified) in both nuclear and mitochondrial genomes, underlie these disorders. The elucidation of the role of the encoded proteins will improve our understanding of basic mechanisms of ganglion cell development, physiology and metabolism and further our understanding of the pathophysiology of optic nerve disease. It will also improve diagnosis, counselling and management of patients, and eventually lead to the development of new therapeutic modalities.
Posttraumatic stress disorder and family functioning in adolescent cancer
Authors: Pelcovitz David , Libov Barbara Goldenberg , Mandel Francine , Kaplan Sandra , Weinblatt Mark , Septimus Aliza
Published: September 2003

Twenty three adolescents with a history of cancer, 27 physically abused adolescents, and 23 healthy, nonabused adolescents were administered structured posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) interviews and self‐report questionnaires regarding family functioning. Thirty five percent of adolescent cancer subjects met criteria for lifetime PTSD as compared to only 7% of the abused adolescents: 17% of the cancer subjects and 11% of the abuse subjects met criteria for current PTSD. Adolescents with cancer viewed their mothers and fathers as significantly more caring and more protective than the comparison and abused adolescents. Cancer subjects who met criteria for lifetime PTSD saw their families as significantly more chaotic than those who did not have PTSD. Eighty three percent of cancer subjects who had lifetime PTSD also had mothers who had PTSD.
Effects of psychotherapeutic treatments for PTSD: A meta‐analysis of controlled clinical trials
Authors: Sherman Jeffrey J.
Published: September 2003

This meta‐analysis synthesized the results from controlled, clinical trials of psychotherapeutic treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Psychotherapeutic modalities included behavioral, cognitive, and psychodynamic treatments, in group and individual settings. Participants in the studies included combat veterans from the Vietnam and Lebanon Wars, crime‐related victims, and severe bereavement sufferers. The impact of psychotherapy on PTSD and psychiatric symptomatology was significant, d = .52, r = .25, when measured immediately after treatments were administered. Similarly, there was no decay in the effect of treatment at follow‐up, d = .64, r = .31. Moreover, for target symptoms of PTSD and general psychological symptoms (intrusion, avoidance, hyperarousal, anxiety, and depression), effect sizes were significant, ranging from r's of .2–.49. Results suggest substantial promise for improving psychological health and decreasing related symptoms for those suffering from PTSD.
Transgenerational effects of abusive violence on the children of Vietnam combat veterans
Authors: Rosenheck Robert , Fontana Alan
Published: September 2003

This study examined the relationship between participation in abusive violence in Vietnam and behavioral disturbances among children aged 6‐16 in the next generation. As part of the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS) detailed data were obtained on a national sample of male veterans who were living in households with children aged 6‐16 (N = 257). Interviews with spouses/partners were used to evaluate current family relationships and child behavior. Children of veterans who participated in abusive violence showed more behavioral disturbance than children of other Vietnam veterans even after multivariate analysis was used to adjust for other factors such as PTSD symptoms, combat exposure, and postmilitary family relationships. Participation in abusive violence appears to affect parent‐child relationships in a way that adversely influences children living at home.
Animal defensive reactions as a model for trauma‐induced dissociative reactions
Authors: Nijenhuis Ellert R. S. , Vanderlinden Johan , Spinhoven Philip
Published: September 2003

Patients with complex dissociative disorders remain in alternating psychophysiological states which are discrete, discontinuous, and resistant against integrative tendencies. In this contribution, a parallel is drawn between animal defensive and recuperative states that are evoked in the face of severe threat and the characteristic responses of dissociative disorder patients as displayed in major dissociative states. Empirical data and clinical observations seem to be supportive of the idea that there are similarities between freezing, concomitant development of analgesia and anesthesia, and acute pain in threatened animals and severely traumatized human beings.
Atrocities exposure in Vietnam combat veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder: Relationship to combat exposure, symptom severity, guilt, and interpersonal violence
Authors: Beckham Jean C. , Feldman Michelle E. , Kirby Angela C.
Published: September 2003

Vietnam combat veterans (N = 151) with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) completed measures of atrocities exposure, combat exposure, PTSD symptom severity, guilt and interpersonal violence. PTSD symptom severity, guilt and interpersonal violence rates were similar to previously reported studies that examined treatment seeking combat veterans with PTSD. Controlling for combat exposure, endorsement of atrocities exposure was related to PTSD symptom severity, PTSD B (reexperiencing) symptoms, Global Guilt, Guilt Cognitions, and cognitive subscales of Hindsight‐Bias/Responsibility and Wrongdoing. These results are discussed in the context of previous research conducted regarding atrocities exposure and PTSD.