bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prorenin Induces Intracellular Signaling in Cardiomyocytes Independently of Angiotensin II
Authors: Saris Jasper J. , ’t Hoen Peter A.C. , Garrelds Ingrid M. , Dekkers Dick H.W. , den Dunnen Johan T. , Lamers Jos M.J. , Jan Danser A.H.
Published: August 2006

Tissue accumulation of circulating prorenin results in angiotensin generation, but could also, through binding to the recently cloned (pro)renin receptor, lead to angiotensin-independent effects, like p42/p44 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation and plasminogen-activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 release. Here we investigated whether prorenin exerts angiotensin-independent effects in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. Polyclonal antibodies detected the (pro)renin receptor in these cells. Prorenin affected neither p42/p44 MAPK nor PAI-1. PAI-1 release did occur during coincubation with angiotensinogen, suggesting that this effect is angiotensin mediated. Prorenin concentration-dependently activated p38 MAPK and simultaneously phosphorylated HSP27. The latter phosphorylation was blocked by the p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580. Rat microarray gene (n=4800) transcription profiling of myocytes stimulated with prorenin detected 260 regulated genes (
P
<0.001 versus control), among which genes downstream of p38 MAPK and HSP27 involved in actin filament dynamics and (
cis
-)regulated genes confined in blood pressure and diabetes QTL regions, like
Syntaxin-7
, were overrepresented. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR of 7 selected genes (
Opg
,
Timp1
,
Best5
,
Hsp27
,
pro-Anp
,
Col3a1
, and
Hk2
) revealed temporal regulation, with peak levels occurring after 4 hours of prorenin exposure. This regulation was not altered in the presence of the renin inhibitor aliskiren or the angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonist eprosartan. Finally, pilot 2D proteomic differential display experiments revealed actin cytoskeleton changes in cardiomyocytes after 48 hours of prorenin stimulation. In conclusion, prorenin exerts angiotensin-independent effects in cardiomyocytes. Prorenin-induced stimulation of the p38 MAPK/HSP27 pathway, resulting in alterations in actin filament dynamics, may underlie the severe cardiac hypertrophy that has been described previously in rats with hepatic prorenin overexpression.
Physiological Assessment of Coronary Artery Disease in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory
Authors: Kern Morton J. , Lerman Amir , Bech Jan-Willen , De Bruyne Bernard , Eeckhout Eric , Fearon William F. , Higano Stuart T. , Lim Michael J. , Meuwissen Martijn , Piek Jan J. , Pijls Nico H.J. , Siebes Maria , Spaan Jos A.E.
Published: August 2006

With advances in technology, the physiological assessment of coronary artery disease in patients in the catheterization laboratory has become increasingly important in both clinical and research applications, but this assessment has evolved without standard nomenclature or techniques of data acquisition and measurement. Some questions regarding the interpretation, application, and outcome related to the results also remain unanswered. Accordingly, this consensus statement was designed to provide the background and evidence about physiological measurements and to describe standard methods for data acquisition and interpretation. The most common uses and support data from numerous clinical studies for the physiological assessment of coronary artery disease in the cardiac catheterization laboratory are reviewed. The goal of this statement is to provide a logical approach to the use of coronary physiological measurements in the catheterization lab to assist both clinicians and investigators in improving patient care.
Distribution of Lipoproteins by Age and Gender in Adolescents
Authors: Jolliffe Courtney J. , Janssen Ian
Published: August 2006

Background—

The current National Cholesterol Education Program lipoprotein classification system for children and adolescents is recommended for use among 2- to 19-year-olds. This classification system does not take into account gender differences or the natural fluctuations in lipoprotein concentrations that occur with growth and maturation.

Methods and Results—

Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys were used to develop age- and gender-specific thresholds that can be used to denote abnormal levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides. Each curve was linked to the adult National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III lipoprotein thresholds using LMS (Lambda-Mu-Sigma) growth curve regression methods. A series of growth curves and tables are presented that can be used to diagnose high-risk lipoprotein levels in the clinical and research settings. For example, in 1-year increments for males starting at age 12 and extending to age 19 years, the high-risk thresholds for total cholesterol were 6.03, 5.83, 5.70, 5.70, 5.77, 5.88, 6.02, and 6.16 mmol/L. The corresponding high-risk threshold for adults (≥20 years) is 6.22 mmol/L.

Conclusions—

The present study is the first attempt at developing age- and gender-specific lipoprotein threshold concentrations for adolescents. This new classification system should provide a more accurate diagnosis of high-risk lipoprotein levels and associated cardiovascular risks in adolescents.
African American and Latino Perceptions of Cohesion in a Multiethnic Neighborhood
Authors: Brown Elizabeth E. , Brooks Fred
Published: August 2006

Although cohesive neighborhoods are associated with a wide variety of positive outcomes for residents, little research on neighborhood cohesion has been done in multiethnic neighborhoods. This exploratory study combines the administration of Buckner’s Neighborhood Cohesion Index to 50 Latinos and 50 African Americans, with semistructured qualitative interviews with 14 Latino and African American residents. Results from the quantitative cohesion measure indicate a moderate level of cohesion in the neighborhood, with Latinos having a significantly higher degree of attraction to the neighborhood as well as neighborly contact. An analysis of the qualitative interviews indicates differences between the two groups, although both groups agree that mutual aid and respect are keys to cohesion. Even with the social distance between ethnic groups, both groups are willing to work together to improve their neighborhood.
Development of vocabulary and grammar in young German-speaking children assessed with a German language development inventory
Authors: Szagun Gisela , Steinbrink Claudia , Franik Melanie , Stumper Barbara
Published: August 2006

Using a parent report instrument, the development of vocabulary and grammar was examined in 333 German-speaking children aged between 1;6 and 2;6. Grammar scales measured sentence complexity and inflectional morphology. Results indicate that vocabulary increased faster than sentence complexity and inflectional morphology. Within inflectional paradigms, noun plural and gender marking were acquired faster than case marking and verb inflections. Modals and copula were acquired most slowly. There was extensive variability on all language scales. The different language skills were strongly related, with grammatical development increasing non-linearly in dependence on vocabulary. There was a mild effect of gender favouring girls. The results converge with results of studies in other languages using a parent report instrument. There is some evidence for concurrent validity for the present questionnaire.
Reference time in child English and Polish
Authors: Pawlak Aleksandra , Oehlrich Jessica S. , Weist Richard M.
Published: August 2006

The purpose of this research was to investigate the manner in which reference time becomes integrated into the child's emerging systems of temporal reference. The longitudinal data from six children learning English and six children learning Polish were analyzed within the period from about 1;6 to 5;0. The temporal reference within an event time and a reference time system was evaluated. Regarding reference time constructions, we traced the acquisition of the following terms: (1) English, when, then, before, after, yesterday, today and tomorrow, and (2) Polish, potem ‘then’, jak (simultaneous ‘when’), jak (sequential, ‘after’), przed ‘before’, po ‘after’, wczoraj ‘yesterday’, dzisiaj ‘today’ and jutro‘tomorrow’. Entrance into the reference time system followed entrance into the event time system by about one year, i.e., at about 3 years as contrasted with 2 years of age. Children learning English and Polish produced deictic mismatches between tense and adverbs while learning the meaning of ‘yesterday’, ‘today’ and ‘tomorrow’, and they made errors in the co-ordination of tenses in complex sentences. The error patterns that accompany the entrance into the reference time system demonstrate the importance of combining a theory of sentence processing with a theory of clause structure.
Adult and child production of Quechua relative clauses
Authors: Courtney Ellen H.
Published: August 2006

This study investigates the production of Quechua relative clauses by Peruvian adults and children, aged 2;8–4;7. Quechua relative clauses may be internallyheaded, externally-headed or headless. Previous studies (e.g., O'Grady, 2003), suggested two outcomes: children will have less difficulty producing subject-gap relative clauses than other types; and, compared with adults, children will produce more headed relatives, especially internally-headed relative clauses. A procedure was used to elicit production of two relative clauses for each of four types: subject-gap, direct object-gap, non-direct object-gap, possessor-gap. Participants produced all types with equal ease, although children produced more errors; children produced comparatively more headless relatives, and their headed relative clauses were overwhelmingly externally-headed. This outcome is attributed to children's learning [modifier+noun] constructions resembling headless and externally-headed relative clauses.
Marital Meaning
Authors: Hall Scott S.
Published: August 2006

The purpose of the study is to examine the meaning that the institution of marriage can hold for young, unmarried adults, based on their systems (or collections) of beliefs about marriage. Based on symbolic interactionism, it is argued that marital meaning has implications for how people behave prior to and during marriage that may relate to marital functioning. A qualitative content analysis of scholarly literature reveals that marital meaning is multifaceted and can be conceptualized as including five distinct dimensions. A confirmatory factor analysis identifies beliefs that are scaled to represent their respective dimensions. A cluster analysis categorizes participants into three groups based on participants’ scores along these dimensions. Similarities and distinctions across the three groups are discussed to highlight the complexity of belief systems that young adults can have about the institution of marriage.
The challenges associated with drug treatment in prison
Authors: McIntosh James , Saville Esther
Published: August 2006

The high proportion of prisoners who experience problem drug use suggests that prisons should, in principle, provide an ideal opportunity for treatment. However, while the potential for intervention in prisons may be clear, there are a number of challenges involved in delivering drug treatment in that setting. This article, which is based on observation and interviews with staff and prisoners in a large Scottish prison, seeks to enhance our understanding of these challenges and to explore how they might be addressed. The research found that a number of aspects of prison life had significant implications for treatment. These included the following: the prison regime and culture; the attitudes of staff towards drug use and drug users; and the relationship between officers and prisoners. Each of these is examined in detail. The article concludes that there is a need to expand those treatments that contain the flexibility and range of skills required to address the complexity of prisoners’ needs. However, it also recognizes that the resource intensive nature of these interventions is likely to require some form of prioritization. The article suggests that targeting these services on the basis of an assessment of prisoners’ readiness to give up drugs might be the most appropriate way of achieving this. Greater use of drug treatment and testing orders could also provide a way of offering offenders the sort of treatment they require while, at the same time, relieving the burden on prison treatment systems. Interventions to increase prisoners’ motivation to give up drugs and to encourage more positive attitudes towards drug users on the part of mainstream prison officers are also recommended.
Travelling Times
Authors: Urry John
Published: August 2006

This article explores aspects of travelling times. First, it is argued that there is something about contemporary times in which travelling assumes a greater significance within many people's lives, even at a time when more communication devices are readily ‘at-hand’. Also, it is shown that there are multiple kinds of time involved in the process of travel and not just the measured clock-time that people seek to minimize in getting from A to B. It is further shown that the problem for travellers and, indeed, for non travellers is coordinating multiple and inconsistent times through complex communications and scheduling tools. Thus travel time involves sets of activities that require examination since the time is not always wasted, dead or empty. These points are demonstrated with regard to walking, train travel and even car journeys.
The State as a Gang
Authors: Rodgers Dennis
Published: August 2006

This article explores the nature of state violence in contemporary Nicaragua. It begins by considering the premise that Latin America has undergone a ‘crisis of governance’ during the past decade, due to the rise of multiple forms of non-state violence, proposing a means of visualizing how forms of ‘state sovereignty’ and ‘social sovereignty’ can viably coexist. With reference to the example of Nicaraguan youth gangs, it then explores the underlying basis of forms of ‘social sovereignty’, focusing in particular on the role played by their violent practices in the constitution of different modes of social ordering. It then uses the analysis developed in relation to gangs heuristically to consider the transformation of state governmentality in Nicaragua, before offering some concluding thoughts about what this might imply for future anthropological explorations of the state’s role in contemporary landscapes of violence.
The State of Gujarat and the Men without Souls
Authors: Simpson Edward
Published: August 2006

In 2002, Gujarat, a state in the west of India, was home to one of the worst rounds of religious violence the country had seen for decades. The victims were mostly Muslims. In this article, I argue, as others have done, that this violence was a product of the growing influence of a Hindu nationalist agenda at state and national levels. However, I also suggest that the violence emerged from the related patterns of neo-liberal reform which are radically altering the structures of society and governance in Gujarat. Economic and political liberalization has created ambiguous zones between the state and society in which the possibility of religious violence has been incubated, sometimes deliberately, but by no means always so. To demonstrate how I arrived at this conclusion, I examine the creation of images of Muslims in Hindu society and how these images are recreated through the actions of Hindu nationalist organizations and the government. By doing so, I demonstrate how the organizations of Hindu nationalism have set about re-imagining the shape and purpose of the state. Furthermore, by isolating Muslims from economic resources and political representation, the organizations of Hindu nationalism enliven their own foundational myths, which state that the Hindu majority is in need of protection from the troublesome, isolationist and secretive Muslim minority.
The Prevalence and Characteristics of Intimate Partner Violence in a Community Study of Chinese American Women
Authors: Hicks Madelyn Hsiao-Rei
Published: August 2006

A community probability-sampled survey was done of 181 Chinese American women to investigate the prevalence and nature of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Chinese Americans. Of participants, 42% knew a Chinese woman who had experienced IPV. Also, 14% had experienced IPV themselves in their lifetime (8% severe and 6% minor), 3% in the previous year, and 2% currently. In Chinese American women who were ever married, the lifetime prevalence of IPV was 17%. IPV resulted in physical injuries for 31% of women and affected their work and education. Exploratory analysis suggests that relationship problems and partner's alcohol use may be risk factors for IPV in this group.
Desegregation Stalled
Authors: England Paula , Li Su
Published: August 2006

Gender segregation in baccalaureate degree fields declined rapidly in the first half of the period from 1971 to 2002; at the same time, women's representation among baccalaureate degree recipients increased most rapidly relative to men's. The desegregation of the early period resulted mainly from women's increased entry into business-related fields and declining proportions of women majoring in traditional fields such as education and English. Men did not contribute to integration by moving toward fields numerically dominated by women. Fixed-effects regression models suggest that feminization of fields discourages later cohorts of men from entering them, as predicted by the devaluation perspective. The stalling of desegregation came from a combination of men's disinclination to enter fields that are “too” filled with women, and the slowdown in women making less traditional choices.
South African AIDS Orphans
Authors: Henderson Patricia C.
Published: August 2006

The article examines assumptions circulating in development or interventionist discourse concerning the vulnerabilities of AIDS orphans in South Africa. Ongoing ethnographic research, begun in March 2003, with 31 rural children and youth between the ages of 14 and 22, in Magangangozi, KwaZulu-Natal, points to the ways in which global terms may fail to describe local particularities. Too narrow a focus on the vulnerabilities of AIDS orphans obscures the ways in which they share similar circumstances with other poor children, as well as the strengths they bring to bear on their circumstances. Research methods include: documenting meetings between the children and NGO intervention facilitators; ongoing home visits; the use of open-ended recorded interviews and of theatre techniques; accompanying children in household and agricultural tasks; and facilitating group workshops with the young people outside their community. Findings show the varying circumstances in which the ‘orphans’ live; the degrees to which they have been accommodated within wider kin groups; their dexterity, knowledge and skill in navigating local environments; and a reiteration of rich sets of cultural understandings and local performance repertoires in holding experience and loss. Some of the implicit meanings in children's rights discourse as filtered through interventionist programmes aimed at AIDS orphans, namely, what it is to be a child, and the social placement of children in relation to caregivers, are thus challenged.
Spinning the Epidemic
Authors: Meintjes Helen , Giese Sonja
Published: August 2006

This article questions why a somewhat singular focus on orphanhood in the context of AIDS persists despite important shifts to more inclusive terminology of ‘orphans and vulnerable children’. Analysis of data from South Africa raises questions about the ‘spin’ placed on ‘orphanhood’ and its perceived consequences for children. Local notions of vulnerability and of orphanhood are examined, and their mismatch with international policy definitions noted. The article illustrates how the global focus on orphans consolidates stereotypes of children's experiences, and moderates local applications of the term. It concludes by arguing that the global preoccupation with orphans and their rights as children ‘in need of special protection’ is shifting the terrain of orphanhood at a local level in South Africa, and producing new struggles on the ground. The article argues for careful attention to be paid to conceptual and representational issues by those writing about and responding to childhoods in the context of AIDS.
Border Prophylaxis
Authors: Inda Jonathan Xavier
Published: August 2006

This article explores border policing as a way of governing illegal immigration. In particular, it focuses on the technical dimensions of this process— on border policing as a technology. Not just as any technology, however, but as a prophylactic one. Border policing is a prophylactic technology in the sense that it brings together an array of practical and intellectual mechanisms in an effort to affect the conduct of illegal immigrants in such as way as to forestall illicit border crossings. The goal here is social prophylaxis. It is to prevent undocumented immigrants from becoming ‘problems’ in the social body through preventing their entry into the US.
V. A. Kral, the Montreal Hebrew Old People's Home, and benign senescent forgetfulness
Authors: Heinik Jeremia
Published: August 2006

The term Benign Senescent Forgetfulness, introduced in 1958 by V. A. Kral, constitutes the origin of the concept of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a widely studied but controversial entity. The ambiguities surrounding MCI warrant a re-assessment of its historical origin. Any attempt at an in-depth investigation of Kral's works on that subject should begin with a description of the patient population and professional arena in the Montreal Hebrew Old People's and Sheltering Home, where Kral was a consultant. Based on archival and published sources, I describe the Home's facilities, population, staff and programmes/services, followed by an overview of the dynamic factors inducing a re-examination of its mode of operation in the mid-1950s when Kral joined the Home's professional staff as a consultant.
‘Setting ’Em Up’: Personal, Familial and Institutional Grooming in the Sexual Abuse of Children
Authors: Mcalinden Anne-Marie
Published: August 2006

The term ‘grooming’ has been used to describe the offender’s actions during the preparatory stage of sexual abuse. This article will argue that current discourses on grooming have created ambiguities and misunderstandings about child sexual abuse. In particular, the popular focus on ‘stranger danger’ belies the fact that the majority of children are abused by someone well known to them, where grooming can also occur. Current discourses also neglect other important facets of the sex offending pattern. They fail to consider that offenders may groom not only the child but also their family and even the local community who may act as the gatekeepers of access. They also ignore what can be termed ‘institutional grooming’ - that sex offenders may groom criminal justice and other institutions into believing that they present no risk to children. A key variable in the grooming process is the creation and subsequent abuse of trust. Given that the criminal law may be somewhat limited in its response to this type of behaviour, ultimately concerted efforts must be made to foster social and organizational awareness of such processes in order to reduce the offender’s opportunity for abuse.
Moving Toward Peace: An Analysis of the Concept of a Good Death
Authors: Kehl Karen A.
Published: August 2006

One of the primary outcomes of end-of-life care should be the experience of a good death by the patient and the family. Yet there is no clear, shared understanding of what a good death is. This analysis of the concept of a good death has been guided by Rodgers' evolutionary method of concept analysis.1 Forty-two articles were analyzed. There was the strong agreement that the concept of a good death was highly individual, changeable over time, and based on perspective and experience. Medical, nursing, and patient perspectives, as well as literature in sociology, include the following attributes of a good death, listed in order of frequency of appearance in the literature: being in control, being comfortable, sense of closure, affirmation/value of the dying person recognized, trust in care providers, recognition of impending death, beliefs and values honored, burden minimized, relationships optimized, appropriateness of death, leaving a legacy, and family care.
Learned Correctors as Technical Editors
Authors: Malone Edward A.
Published: August 2006

The technology of movable type in early modern Europe created new communication challenges (e.g., typographical errors) for book producers. These challenges were greater with books written in learned or foreign languages or about scientific or technical subjects. Printers experimented with different strategies to ensure correctness, but the best solution came from delegating jobs to specialists. Freelance scholars were employed by authors, printers, and booksellers to correct books before publication, and some of these learned correctors were early versions of technical editors. Their history may offer insight into current communication concerns, such as the role of learned correctors in our present technological age.
Beyond Measuring the Human Resources Management-Organizational Performance Link: Applying Critical Realist Meta-Theory
Authors: Hesketh Anthony , Fleetwood Steve
Published: August 2006

One response to the possible outsourcing of the human resource (HR) function is to turn to ‘science’ and seek to demonstrate an empirical association between HR practices and increased organizational performance. This paper critically examines the shortcomings of the ‘scientific’ approach by first, reviewing the three distinctive versions of research on the Human Resources Management (HRM)-Performance link in an attempt to demonstrate their commitment to a common ‘scientific’ meta-theory. Second, we use critical realism to demonstrate: (1) that theoretical underdevelopment and lack of explanatory power are encouraged by the use of an inappropriate ‘scientific’ meta-theory; (2) the possibility of meta-theorizing the causal connection between HRM and performance without seeking statistical associations; and (3) how all this is in-keeping with Institutional theory. Finally, all of this is achieved by inserting evidence from interviews with HR professionals to demonstrate not only that they are sceptical of the ‘scientific’ approach, but also that they hold views of the world not dissimilar to the critical realist approach we advocate.
How many doctors does it take to make an autism spectrum diagnosis?
Authors: Goin-Kochel Robin P. , Mackintosh Virginia H. , Myers Barbara J.
Published: August 2006

Parents of children with pervasive developmental disorders (n = 494) were surveyed to determine their level of satisfaction with the process of getting an autism spectrum diagnosis. Participants in this web-based study (mean age = 37.8 years) came from five countries and reported on children with an average age of 8.3 years (range = 1.7 to 22.1). All children had a diagnosis of either autism (59.9%), Asperger syndrome (23.5%), or PDD-NOS (16.6%). Higher levels of parental education and income were associated with earlier diagnosis and greater satisfaction with the diagnostic process. Parents were more satisfied with the diagnostic process when they saw fewer professionals to get the diagnosis and when the children received the diagnoses at younger ages.
From institution to industry
Authors: Xiaoming Zhang
Published: August 2006

The reform of Chinese public cultural institutions ( shiye) revolves around one core issue – how to transform state-owned cultural industry sectors to enable them to facilitate the development of the cultural economy in China. The development path is from institution ( shiye) to industry ( chanye). This article examines the current situation, reforms in the cultural sector and future prospects.
With a little help from my friends
Authors: Benzecry Claudio E.
Published: August 2006

This article presents an ethnography and analysis of the formations in which the latest Argentine literary ideas and intellectuals are shaped. In trying to understand the end, during the 1990s, of the polemic as the main mechanism of self-regulation in the field of literature, I focus on two questions: (1) How did a ‘new’ intellectual generation both reproduce and transform itself during those years? (2) What processes did the writers involved use to transcend the previous schism, while reproducing artistic value in the field? I suggest the answer to both is through sociability organized in public events. Presenting data from several years of ethnography of the Buenos Aires literary scene, my interest is to show the production of circles of sociability that resulted in more solidarist than conflictive strategies in the production of literary value.
Late Judeo-Aramaic: The Language of Theosophic Kabbalah
Authors: Mopsik Charles
Published: August 2006

From Antiquity to the modern era, Aramaic co-existed with Hebrew as a language of Jewish literary production, and for certain types of writing, especially on topics associated with a degree of esotericism such as magic, prophetic revelation and mystical speculation, it often asserted itself as the preferred language long after Aramaic had ceased to function as a spoken vernacular. This article considers the possible reasons for this preference. It focuses on the Zohar, which established Aramaic as the language of theosophical mysticism in thirteenth-century Castile, and traces the linguistic impact of this work on subsequent schools of Kabbalah.
Hebrew and Aramaic as Languages of the Zohar
Authors: Liebes Yehuda
Published: August 2006

Apart from a few Hebrew sections, most of the Zohar is written in a unique language: an idiosyncratic Aramaic that cannot be classified within the standard division of Aramaic dialects and which was never a spoken language. On these grounds the scholarly literature has labelled it 'artificial'. The present article challenges this label, arguing that the Aramaic of the Zohar is completely natural. Aramaic was traditionally used for mystical purposes, and the Zohar's preference for this language as the best vehicle for advancing its own mystical purpose has been vindicated by the work's quality and lasting effect.
Observations on the Verbless Clause in the Language of Neophyti I
Authors: Butts Aaron Michael
Published: August 2006

The present study provides a description of the syntax of the verbless clause in Targum Neophyti I. It begins with several introductory remarks before proceeding to the main portion of the paper, which consists of a description of the two primary patterns for the verbless clause in Neophyti, each of which may be expanded via extraposition of the subject. The study concludes with a brief discussion of the translation technique of Neophyti, arguing that at least in the case of the verbless clause, Targum Neophyti should be considered idiomatic Aramaic syntax and not a calque of the Hebrew Vorlage.
?q(n) 'wood' in the Aramaic Ostraca from Idumea: A Note on the Reflex of Proto-Semitic/*s/in Imperial Aramaic
Authors: Notarius Tania
Published: August 2006

A new spelling of the Aramaic lexeme 'wood' has been revealed. The note deals with the paleographic, orthographic, phonetic and phonemic implications of this spelling. It is claimed that in Idumean Aramaic of the fourth century BCE the reflex of the Proto-Semitic lateral fricative emphatic was realized as pharyngeal approximant ayin, what brought to the dissimilation of the first of two pharyngeals in this lexeme.
Low-frequency electromagnetic fields in applied geophysics: Waves or diffusion?
Authors: Løseth Lars O. , Pedersen Hans M. , Ursin Bjørn , Amundsen Lasse , Ellingsrud Svein
Published: August 2006

Low-frequency electromagnetic (EM) signal propagation in geophysical applications is sometimes referred to as diffusion and sometimes as waves. In the following we discuss the mathematical and physical approaches behind the use of the different terms. The basic theory of EM wave propagation is reviewed. From a frequency-domain description we show that all of the well-known mathematical tools of wave theory, including an asymptotic ray-series description, can be applied for both nondispersive waves in nonconductive materials and low-frequency waves in conductive materials. We consider the EM field from an electric dipole source and show that a common frequency-domain description yields both the undistorted pulses in nonconductive materials and the strongly distorted pulses in conductive materials. We also show that the diffusion-equation approximation of low-frequency EM fields in conductive materials gives the correct mathematical description, and this equation has wave solutions. Having considered both a wave-picture approach and a diffusion approach to the problem, we discuss the possible confusion that the use of these terms might lead to.
A theoretical overview of model-based and correlation-based redatuming methods
Authors: Schuster Gerard T. , Zhou Min
Published: August 2006

We review the equations for correlation-based redatuming methods. A correlation-based redatuming method uses natural-phase information in the data to time shift the weighted traces so they appear to be generated by sources (or recorded by geophones) shifted to a new location. This compares to model-based redatuming, which effectively time shifts the traces using traveltimes computed from a prior velocity model. For wavefield redatuming, the daylight imaging, interferometric imaging, reverse-time acoustics (RTA), and virtual-source methods all require weighted correlation of the traces with one another, followed by summation over all sources (and sometimes receivers). These methods differ from one another by their choice of weights. The least-squares interferometry and virtual-source imaging methods are potentially the most powerful because they account for the limited source and receiver aperture of the recording geometry. Interferometry, on the other hand, has the flexibility to select imaging conditions that target almost any type of event. Stationary-phase principles lead to a Fermat-based redatuming method known as redatuming by a seminatural Green’s function. No crosscorrelation is needed, so it is less expensive than the other methods. Finally, Fermat’s principle can be used to redatum traveltimes.
A case history of time-lapse 3D seismic surveys at Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada
Authors: Isaac J. Helen , Lawton Don C.
Published: August 2006

Time-lapse 3D seismic surveys were acquired across a bitumen field at Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada, during a production cycle (1990) and a steam-injection cycle (1992) of a thermal-enhanced oil recovery (EOR) program. We observed changes in interval traveltime and amplitude distributions between the processed surveys. We interpret the increased traveltimes observed over most of the injection survey to be a result of lowered interval velocities in the reservoir, caused primarily by higher temperature and lower effective pressure. Reflection-strength variations within the reservoir are present in each data set and change spatially between the surveys. In general, we interpret the amplitude anomalies seen only on the production survey to be caused by local free gas and the amplitude anomalies seen only on the injection survey, which are close to the perforation depths, to be caused by thin, vertically restricted steamed zones.
Spurious multiples in seismic interferometry of primaries
Authors: Snieder Roel , Wapenaar Kees , Larner Ken
Published: August 2006

Seismic interferometry is a technique for estimating the Green’s function that accounts for wave propagation between receivers by correlating the waves recorded at these receivers. We present a derivation of this principle based on the method of stationary phase. Although this derivation is intended to be educational, applicable to simple media only, it provides insight into the physical principle of seismic interferometry. In a homogeneous medium with one horizontal reflector and without a free surface, the correlation of the waves recorded at two receivers correctly gives both the direct wave and the singly reflected waves. When more reflectors are present, a product of the singly reflected waves occurs in the crosscorrelation that leads to spurious multiples when the waves are excited at the surface only. We give a heuristic argument that these spurious multiples disappear when sources below the reflectors are included. We also extend the derivation to a smoothly varying heterogeneous background medium.
3D edge-preserving smoothing and applications
Authors: AlBinHassan Nasher M. , Luo Yi , Al-Faraj Mohammed N.
Published: August 2006

This paper presents a new algorithm for reducing noise in seismic-impedance cubes while preserving structural and stratigraphic discontinuities or edges. The method divides the vicinity of every location in a 3D impedance cube into a number of blocks as the analysis point moves throughout the volume. At an interior discontinuity location with any 3D orientation, the process does not average values across the edge because this would blur the feature. Instead, the smoothest neighboring value is used. The main advantage of this 3D smoothing algorithm is that it preserves both lateral and vertical edges (i.e., the impedance boundaries) and improves the contrast in coherence attributes derived from impedance data.
Geophysical investigations in the Flumendosa River Delta, Sardinia (Italy) — Seismic reflection imaging
Authors: Deidda Gian Piero , Ranieri Gaetano , Uras Gabriele , Cosentino Pietro , Martorana Raffaele
Published: August 2006

A geophysical investigation that included seismic-reflection surveying and time-domain electromagnetics (EM) was carried out in the Flumendosa River Delta plain in southeastern Sardinia, Italy. The objective was to improve knowledge of geologic and hydrogeologic controls on a highly productive aquifer hosted in thick Quaternary deposits and known to be affected by an extensive saltwater intrusion. The seismic reflection survey, whose results are reported here, aimed to image the Paleozoic bedrock topography and to obtain detailed structural and stratigraphic information on the sequence of largely fluvial sediments extending from the surface down to bedrock. The survey consisted of two inline profiles, nearly parallel to the coastline and 1 km inland. The sources ([Formula: see text] of explosives buried at [Formula: see text] depth) and receivers (50-Hz vertical geophones) produced a twelvefold data set with common midpoints every [Formula: see text]. Detailed integrated velocity analysis (constant velocity gathers, constant velocity stacks, and semblance plots) and frequency-wavenumber-domain dip moveout (DMO) proved to be the most important processing steps in producing the two stacked sections. Both sections were characterized by distinct seismic units bounded by quasi-continuous reflectors. The lowermost reflection, imaged on section 1 at two-way traveltimes between [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] and on section 2 between [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text], was interpreted to be Paleozoic bedrock. A maximum depth twice as deep as expected was the primary and somewhat surprising result. Imaging of oblique progradational facies — another major finding — proved the existence of undocumented marine Pleistocene sediments that could help in revising the area’s geology.
Petrophysical inversion of borehole array-induction logs: Part I — Numerical examples
Authors: Alpak Faruk O. , Torres-Verdín Carlos , Habashy Tarek M.
Published: August 2006

We have developed a new methodology for the quantitative petrophysical evaluation of borehole array-induction measurements. The methodology is based on the time evolution of the spatial distributions of fluid saturation and salt concentration attributed to mud-filtrate invasion. We use a rigorous formulation to account for the physics of fluid displacement in porous media resulting from water-base mud filtrate invading hydrocarbon-bearing rock formations. Borehole array-induction measurements are simulated in a coupled mode with the physics of fluid flow. We use inversion to estimate parametric 1D distributions of permeability and porosity that honor the measured array-induction logs. As a byproduct, the inversion yields 2D (axial-symmetric) spatial distributions of aqueous phase saturation, salt concentration, and electrical resistivity. We conduct numerical inversion experiments using noisy synthetic wireline logs. The inversion requires a priori knowledge of several mud, petrophys-ical, and fluid parameters. We perform a systematic study of the accuracy and reliability of the estimated values of porosity and permeability when knowledge of such parameters is uncertain. For the numerical cases considered in this paper, inversion results indicate that borehole electromagnetic-induction logs with multiple radial lengths of investigation (array-induction logs) enable the accurate and reliable estimation of layer-by-layer absolute permeability and porosity. The accuracy of the estimated values of porosity and permeability is higher than 95% in the presence of 5% measurement noise and 10% uncertainty in rock-fluid and mud parameters. However, for cases of deep invasion beyond the radial length of investigation of array-induction logging tools, the estimation of permeability becomes unreliable. We emphasize the importance of a sensitivity study prior to inversion to rule out potential biases in estimating permeability resulting from uncertain knowledge about rock-fluid and mud properties.
Toward a unified analysis for source plane-wave migration
Authors: Liu Faqi , Hanson Douglas W. , Whitmore Norman D. , Day Richard S. , Stolt Robert H.
Published: August 2006

In complex areas with large lateral velocity variations, wave-equation-based source plane-wave migration can produce images comparable to those from shot-profile migration, with less computational cost. Image quality can be better than in ray-theory-based Kirchhoff-type methods. This method requires the composition of plane-wave sections from all shot gathers. We provide a general framework to evaluate plane-wave composition in prestack source plane-wave migration. Our analysis shows that a plane-wave section can be treated as encoded shot gathers. This study provides the theoretical justification for applying plane-wave migration algorithms to sparsely sampled shot gathers with irregularly distributed receivers and limited offset. In addition, we discuss cylindrical-wave migration, which is 3D migration of 2D-constructed plane waves along the inline direction. We mathematically prove the equivalence of shot and plane-wave migration, and their equivalence to cylindrical wave migration in 3D cases when the sail lines are straight. Examples (including the Sigsbee 2A model) demonstrate the theory.
Seismic interferometry with a TBM source of transmitted and reflected waves
Authors: Poletto Flavio , Petronio Lorenzo
Published: August 2006

We discuss the use of autocorrelogram interferometry by using noise from the tunnel-boring machine (TBM). The TBM provides seismic signals/waves while drilling in a tunnel (TSWD). The tunnel geometry, unlike a reverse vertical seismic profile (RVSP) using a drill bit, makes it possible to record the waves reflected from the region between the tunnel face and the projected tunnel exit and those transmitted ahead of the tunnel face. We processed the waves recorded at back positions with respect to the TBM in a manner similar to a RVSP data set obtained by conventional reference-correlation techniques. We processed the waves transmitted ahead of the TBM using autocorrelogram interferometry techniques. Using these wavefields offers advantages over conventional borehole drill-bit vertical seismic profiles (VSPs). The most important advantage is getting reflections from the transmitted (front) wavefield by utilizing Kunetz’s equation and reversed-time traces. The approach also improves the analysis of the transmitted amplitudes. Finally, we improved the deconvolution of the reflected (back) waves by using the transmitted wavefields measured for interferometry purposes. In particular, by using both front (transmitted) and back (reflected) waves, it is possible to deconvolve the signature of the source extended spatially along the tunnel axis. We use a 1D model in which the interfaces are assumed subvertical. We present a case history in which TSWD data were acquired in a tunnel measuring [Formula: see text] long. We compare results from the transmitted reversed-time and back-reflected waves ([Formula: see text]-waves) with those obtained by amplitude analysis and estimation of reflection coefficients. Each approach matches the interpretation of the fractures encountered in the tunnel.
Green’s function representations for seismic interferometry
Authors: Wapenaar Kees , Fokkema Jacob
Published: August 2006

The term seismic interferometry refers to the principle of generating new seismic responses by crosscorrelating seismic observations at different receiver locations. The first version of this principle was derived by Claerbout (1968), who showed that the reflection response of a horizontally layered medium can be synthesized from the autocorrelation of its transmission response. For an arbitrary 3D inhomogeneous lossless medium it follows from Rayleigh’s reciprocity theorem and the principle of time-reversal invariance that the acoustic Green’s function between any two points in the medium can be represented by an integral of crosscorrelations of wavefield observations at those two points. The integral is along sources on an arbitrarily shaped surface enclosing these points. No assumptions are made with respect to the diffusivity of the wavefield. The Rayleigh-Betti reciprocity theorem leads to a similar representation of the elastodynamic Green’s function. When a part of the enclosing surface is the earth’s free surface, the integral needs only to be evaluated over the remaining part of the closed surface. In practice, not all sources are equally important: The main contributions to the reconstructed Green’s function come from sources at stationary points. When the sources emit transient signals, a shaping filter can be applied to correct for the differences in source wavelets. When the sources are uncorrelated noise sources, the representation simplifies to a direct crosscorrelation of wavefield observations at two points, similar as in methods that retrieve Green’s functions from diffuse wavefields in disordered media or in finite media with an irregular bounding surface.