bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sensitivity of cloud condensation nuclei activation processes to kinetic parameters
Authors: Chuang P. Y.
Published: May 2006

The activation of cloud condensation nuclei to form cloud drops can be a kinetically limited process under some circumstances. Here the sensitivity of particle activation to parameters that are related to kinetic processes, in particular condensational growth and ambient supersaturation, is examined. Specifically, the parameters studied are the thermal and mass accommodation coefficients, the rate of solute dissolution for a particle, and the updraft velocity. Results are based on the equation for condensational growth and simulations using adiabatic parcel models. We conclude that activation is not very sensitive to the thermal accommodation coefficient but is sensitive to the mass accommodation coefficient below some critical value of ∼0.1 to 0.001. Dissolution rates (defined for 100 nm dry particles) in the range of 10 min to 1 day can significantly affect activation. Sensitivity to updraft velocity uncertainties can be significant and are likely to be more important for polluted rather than clean conditions.
Range rate–Doppler correlation for HF propagation in traveling ionospheric disturbance environments
Authors: Nickisch L. J. , Hausman Mark A. , Fridman Sergey V.
Published: May 2006

Using ionospheric sounding together with fast computational inverse processing, it is now possible to obtain good real‐time ionospheric models for use in geolocation for over‐the‐horizon (OTH) radar. However, deflection of HF propagation paths by traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) remains a troubling cause of coordinate registration errors. Bandwidth and coverage limitations in ionospheric soundings preclude the ability to model TID structure in real time in most cases. It would be useful if TID‐induced path deflections could be related to radar‐measurable quantities like Doppler shift. As a first step in studying this possibility, we have considered the relationship between Doppler shift and group range rate for point‐to‐point HF propagation paths in TID environments. The nature of group range rate–Doppler correlation is exposed in three ways: (1) simple theoretical modeling, (2) ray tracing in simulated TID environments, and (3) analysis of OTH radar measurements of a fixed beacon. It is shown that group range rate and Doppler shift for fixed‐point propagation paths are usually proportional with a ratio that depends on whether ionospheric motion or density changes predominate in the TID environment.
Equivalent hydraulic conductivity of an experimental stratigraphy: Implications for basin‐scale flow simulations
Authors: Zhang Ye , Gable Carl W. , Person Mark
Published: May 2006

Critical issues facing basin‐scale groundwater flow models are the estimation of representative hydraulic conductivity for the model units and the impact of nonrepresentation of within‐unit conductivity heterogeneity on the model flow prediction. In this study, high‐resolution, fully heterogeneous basin‐scale hydraulic conductivity map is generated by scaling up an experimental stratigraphy created by physical sedimentation processes and by assuming increasing conductivity for increasing gray scale (proxy for sand content). A fully heterogeneous model is created, incorporating the complete conductivity variation. Two hydrogeologic framework models are also created, one of coarser stratigraphic division. A novel numerical up‐scaling method is developed to compute an equivalent conductivity for each irregularly shaped framework model unit by conducting basin‐scale flow experiments in the fully heterogeneous model. In each experiment, different boundary conditions are specified, subjecting the basin to various flow conditions. To evaluate the impact of using equivalent conductivity on the prediction of basin‐scale hydraulic head and groundwater flow, the flow experiments conducted in the fully heterogenous model are repeated in the framework models. Results indicate that for most deposits, the behavior of the equivalent conductivity with increasing ln(K) variance is consistent with the prediction of an analytic‐stochastic theory. The equivalent conductivity is also insensitive to the boundary condition and the number of flow experiments performed, indicating the possible emergence of an effective conductivity. Although all equivalent conductivities are full tensors, the off‐diagonal term is 2–3 orders of magnitude smaller than the diagonal terms. Ignoring the off‐diagonal term has minimal impact on the framework‐model‐predicted hydraulic head and groundwater flow paths, when compared to the impact of nonrepresentation of within‐unit conductivity heterogeneity. Under certain boundary conditions, significant head deviation can develop within framework model units that contain trended or strongly stratified deposits. However, the accuracy of head prediction is improved when the length of the no‐flow boundary is increased. In a topography‐driven system, progressive degradation is observed in the prediction of basin‐scale flow pattern, flow rate, and location of recharge/discharge, when the progressively up‐scaled framework models are used. In summary, the accuracy of the framework models is controlled by the level of stratigraphic division, conductivity heterogeneity, and boundary conditions.
Advances in measurement and modeling of the high-confinement-mode pedestal on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak
Authors: Hughes J. W. , LaBombard B. , Mossessian D. A. , Hubbard A. E. , Terry J. , Biewer T. , Team the Alcator C-Mod
Published: May 2006

Edge transport barrier (ETB) studies on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak [Phys. Plasmas 1, 1511 (1994)] investigate pedestal scalings and the radial transport of plasma and neutrals. Pedestal profiles show trends with plasma operational parameters such as total current IP. A ballooning-like IP2 dependence is seen in the pressure gradient, despite calculated stability to ideal ballooning modes. A similar scaling is seen in the near scrape-off layer for both low-confinement (L-mode) and H-mode discharges, possibly due to electromagnetic fluid drift turbulence setting transport near the separatrix. Neutral density diagnosis allows an examination of D0 fueling in H-modes, yielding profiles of effective particle diffusivity in the ETB, which vary as IP is changed. Edge neutral transport is studied using a one-dimensional kinetic treatment. In both experiment and modeling, the C-Mod density pedestal exhibits a weakly increasing pedestal density and a nearly invariant density pedestal width as the D0 source rate increases. Identical modeling performed on pedestal profiles typical of DIII-D [Nucl. Fusion 42, 614 (2002)] reveal differences in pedestal scalings qualitatively similar to experimental results.
Simple model of membrane proteins including solvent
Authors: Pagan D. L. , Shiryayev A. , Connor T. P. , Gunton J. D.
Published: May 2006

We report a numerical simulation for the phase diagram of a simple two-dimensional model, similar to the one proposed by Noro and Frenkel [J. Chem. Phys. 114, 2477 (2001)] for membrane proteins, but one that includes the role of the solvent. We first use Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo simulations to determine the phase behavior of particles interacting via a square-well potential in two dimensions for various values of the interaction range. A phenomenological model for the solute-solvent interactions is then studied to understand how the fluid-fluid coexistence curve is modified by solute-solvent interactions. It is shown that such a model can yield systems with liquid-liquid phase separation curves that have both upper and lower critical points, as well as closed loop phase diagrams, as is the case with the corresponding three-dimensional model.
Tzitzéica transformation is a dressing action
Authors: Wang Erxiao
Published: May 2006

We classify the simplest rational elements in a twisted loop group, and prove that dressing actions of them, on proper indefinite affine spheres, give the classical Tzitzéica transformation and its dual. We also give the group point of view of the permutability theorem, construct complex Tzitzéica transformations, and discuss the group structure for these transformations.
Fabrication and annihilation of nanovoids in Cu nanoclusters by ion implantation into silica and subsequent annealing
Authors: Ren F. , Jiang C. Z. , Liu C. , Wang J. B.
Published: May 2006

Cu ions were implanted at 180keV into silica with doses ranging from 5×1016to2×1017ions∕cm2. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images showed that Cu nanoclusters containing nanovoids have been formed for doses higher than 1×1017ions∕cm2. The nanovoids grew when the samples were annealed in a reducing atmosphere at 900°C for 1h and then disappeared at 900°C for 4h. The mechanisms for the formation and disappearance of nanovoids are discussed.
Arsenic Speciation: Reduction of Arsenic(V) to Arsenic(III) by Fulvic Acid
Authors: Tongesayi Tsanangurayi , Smart Ronald B.
Published: May 2006

Environmental Context.Most technologies for arsenic removal from water are based on the oxidation of the more toxic and more mobile arsenic(iii) to the less toxic and less mobile arsenic(v). As a result, research effort has been focussed on the oxidation of arsenic(iii) to arsenic(v). It is equally important to explore environmental factors that enhance the reduction of arsenic(v) to arsenic(iii). An understanding of the redox cycling of arsenic could result in the development of cheaper and more efficient arsenic removal technologies, especially for impoverished communities severely threatened by arsenic contamination.
Abstract.The objective of this study was to investigate the reduction of inorganic arsenic(v) with Suwannee River fulvic acid (FA) in aqueous solutions where pH, [FA], [As(v)], [As(iii)], and [Fe(iii)] were independently varied. Samples of inorganic As(v) were incubated with FA in both light and dark at constant temperature. Sterilisation techniques were employed to ensure abiotic conditions. Aliquots from the incubated samples were taken at various time intervals and analysed for As(iii) using square-wave cathodic-stripping voltammetry at a hanging mercury drop electrode. The study demonstrated the following important aspects of As speciation: (1) FA can significantly reduce As(v) to As(iii); (2) reduction of As(v) to As(iii) is a function of time; (3) both dark and light conditions promote reduction of As(v) to As(iii); (4) Fe(iii) speeds up the reduction reaction; and (5) oxidation of As(iii) to As(v) is promoted at pH 2 more than at pH 6.
Mycosporines in Extremophilic Fungi—Novel Complementary Osmolytes?
Authors: Kogej Tina , Gostinčar Cene , Volkmann Marc , Gorbushina Anna A. , Gunde-Cimerman Nina
Published: May 2006

Environmental Context.The occurrence of fungi in extreme environments, particularly in hypersaline water and in subglacial ice, is much higher than was previously assumed. When glacial ice melts as a result of calving or surface ablations, these organisms are released in the Arctic soil or sea and have a yet uninvestigated impact on the environment. Knowledge of the metabolites of these extremophilic fungi is important because they could provide signature molecules in the environment, but they can also contribute nutrients to the otherwise oligotrophic polar conditions. In the present work, we examine the osmotic behaviour of fungi grown under hypersaline conditions.
Abstract.Fungi isolated from hypersaline waters and polar glacial ice were screened for the presence of mycosporines and mycosporine-like amino acids under non-saline and saline growth conditions. Two different mycosporines and three unidentified UV-absorbing compounds were detected by high performance liquid chromatography in fungal isolates from hypersaline waters and polar glacial ice. It was shown for the first time that the mycosporine–glutaminol–glucoside in halophilic and halotolerant black yeasts from salterns was higher on saline growth medium. This substance might act as a supplementary compatible solute in some extremophilic black yeasts exposed to saline growth conditions.
Changes in soil water repellence and its distribution in relation to surface microtopographic units after a low severity fire in eucalypt woodland, Sydney, Australia
Authors: Howell Jocelyn , Humphreys Geoff S. , Mitchell Peter B.
Published: May 2006

The distribution and persistence of water repellence was altered by low severity fire and subsequent rain in soil supporting eucalypt woodland on sandstone terrain in Sydney, south-eastern Australia. Water drop penetration times were recorded to depths of 0.08 m in situ 9 months before the experimental fire, immediately after fire, 4 weeks later when rainfall had modified the soil surface but the soil was dry, and 5 weeks after the fire when the soil was moist. Spatial variation in water repellence was high in all cases except immediately after the fire, when soil was almost uniformly strongly repellent to 0.03 m depth, and less uniformly repellent at 0.04–0.06 m depth. Heavy rain moved litter, ash, and mineral soil, modifying the soil surface into microtopographic units including litter dams, microterraces, and other areas with differing proportions of litter, bare soil, and gravel. Post-rain water drop penetration measurements were taken on and beneath these different surface conditions, in order to investigate the possible contribution of water repellence to the formation and maintenance of litter dams and microterraces characteristic of this terrain after fire. Water repellence did not appear to be directly correlated with the presence or absence of surface litter. Results suggest the long-term and spatially variable water repellence found in soils associated with vegetation dominated by eucalypts in Australia is maintained by factors different from those causing extreme and uniform water repellence after fire. Variable water repellence at the soil surface and within the profile may contribute to differential survival of seedlings after fire. The possible breakdown of water repellent compounds formed after fire and the distribution and development of hydrophobic biotic structures including fungal hyphae and proteoid roots need to be investigated.
Effects of modified clinoptilolite on phosphorus mobilisation and potassium or ammonium release in Ferrosols
Authors: Hua Q. X. , Zhou J. M. , Wang H. Y. , Du C. W. , Chen X. Q. , Li J. Y.
Published: May 2006

An investigation was conducted to study effects of the potassium and ammonium saturated clinoptilolite on P availability in Ferrosols. The adsorption and desorption of phosphorus were determined by shaking 2.5 g soil with 0, 0.5, and 2.5 g clinoptilolite at 0.31 or 1.25 mg P/g soil in 50 mL solution for a total of 72 h (24 h for clinoptilolite and 48 h for phosphate). The nutrient concentrations in supernatants were measured by spectrophotometry. Results showed phosphorus solubility was significantly increased with clinoptilolite addition. Increasing the amount of clinoptilolite enhanced the concentration of P up to 6.85 and 41.29 mg/L at 0.31 and 1.25 mg P/g soil, respectively. Correspondingly, the amount of potassium and ammonium released from the clinoptilolite were up to 63.69 and 12.20 mg/L at 0.31 mg P/g soil, and 107.42 and 29.94 mg/L at 1.25 mg P/g soil. Nutrient concentrations in the treatments in which clinoptilolite was added before P were greater than that in the treatments in which P was added prior to clinoptilolite. The results also suggest that potassium and ammonium saturated clinoptilolite can increase P solubility while providing K and NH4 to the soil, a concurrent positive effect for plant growth.
Did they jump or were they pushed? Reasons why minority ethnic trainees withdraw from initial teacher training courses
Authors: Basit Tehmina N. , Roberts Lorna , McNamara Olwen , Carrington Bruce , Maguire Meg , Woodrow Derek
Published: May 2006

This article reports the findings of a research project which examines the reasons why minority ethnic trainees withdraw from teacher training courses. It highlights a number of issues, the most significant of which is that withdrawal is a process not an event. The most common causes of withdrawal were ‘personal’ and ‘family’ reasons. However, the combination of these two factors with various issues to do with the initial teacher training (ITT) institution and the placement school made it impossible for most trainees to stay on the course. With the exception of perceptions of racism by some minority ethnic trainees, the reasons for withdrawal given by majority ethnic and minority ethnic trainees were by and large the same. The article concludes by suggesting a number of strategies for ITT institutions and placement schools to improve the retention of trainees. It emphasises the need for better support from ITT institutions, more structured mentoring during school placements, continuous and effective communication between the ITT institutions and placement schools, flexibility in course structure, improved funding, availability of affordable childcare, and the tackling of discrimination. It also stresses that withdrawal is not necessarily final, and these trainees should be encouraged to return to teaching as many enjoyed the course and would make good teachers.
Can ICT reduce social exclusion? The case of an adults' English language learning programme
Authors: Webb Sue
Published: May 2006

Strong claims are made for ICT‐based lifelong learning as an effective way of reducing the exclusion of various groups in society, yet, there is very little research to support these claims. Empirical research is needed, including qualitative studies of the experiences of socially excluded learners using ICT. This article reports the findings of such a study in relation to learners from one socially excluded group, adults from ethnic minority backgrounds, who are disproportionately deprived and often excluded by language. The article discusses the study of the experiences and perceptions of adults learning English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) through ICT in seven different learning centres in England. The findings show that technology is insufficient to overcome existing inequalities in access to learning, and to engage learners who would not otherwise undertake formal learning, but ICT‐based learning can reduce some aspects of social exclusion in terms of encouraging minority ethnic group learners to speak more within the host community. ICT‐based learning offers a space for language learning and practice, which is often absent in traditional ESOL classrooms and in the every day lives of these excluded groups. Learning is a social practice in which the level of commitment of tutors to encouraging the use of these media and creating a safe and private space for learning affects the range of learning activities with which learners engage and the impact of these on their everyday use of English.
Extracurricular sports activity around growth spurt and improved tibial cortical bone properties in late adolescence
Authors: SHI HUI‐JING , NAKAMURA KEIKO , KIZUKI MASASHI , INOSE TOMOKO , SEINO KAORUKO , TAKANO TAKEHITO
Published: May 2006

Aim: To elucidate whether extracurricular sports activity during rapid growth correlates with improved bone properties in late adolescence, a longitudinal observation was performed among 96 high‐school enrolments (46 boys and 50 girls, born in 1981–1982) in metropolitan Tokyo. Methods: In each year of high school, tibial cortical speed of sound (TCSOS) was measured by quantitative ultrasonometry, and participation in extracurricular sports activity (ECSA) since primary school was examined by structured questionnaire. We calculated the number of years since peak height velocity (ysPHV) based on annual records of height from 6 to 18 y of age to indicate progression of puberty. Results: The increase in TCSOS during high school in boys (32.5 m/s) was significantly greater than that in girls (5.4 m/s). The magnitude of positive association between ysPHV and TCSOS attenuated gradually over time. ECSA in grades 7–9 in boys and in grades 4–6 in girls were significant predictors of TCSOS throughout high school, independent of potential confounders.

Conclusion: The bone benefits of ECSA around the growth spurt are maintainable in subsequent years. The importance of physical activities that are integrated into the ordinary lifestyle of children and adolescents during this crucial period is emphasized.
Comparative analysis of neonatal morbidity for vaginal and caesarean section deliveries using hospital charge
Authors: CHANG JUI‐HSING , HSU CHIN‐YUAN , LO JOAN C. , CHEN CHIE‐PEIN , HUANG FU‐YUAN , YU SUCHUAN
Published: May 2006

Aim: To assess the neonatal morbidity of alternative modes of delivery using economic data. Methods: Two groups of neonatal morbidity data were extracted according to mode of delivery from inpatient claims on National Health Insurance in Taiwan: uncomplicated vaginal and caesarean section deliveries. Outcome variables included number of infants treated as inpatients, duration of hospital stay, and hospital charge during both the first month and the first year of age. Results: Uncomplicated caesarean section delivery of term infants carried a significant increase either in the first month of life or during the first year after birth in both duration of hospital stay and hospital discharge when compared with uncomplicated vaginal delivery. Neonatal jaundice accounted for the greatest morbidity among term newborns, irrespective of delivery mode, followed by infectious, gastrointestinal and respiratory morbidity. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that uncomplicated vaginal delivery was associated with skin diseases. Uncomplicated caesarean section delivery was associated with infectious disease and disease of the respiratory, digestive and circulatory systems.

Conclusion: The findings of this study may provide further information for clinicians and would be an important consideration when advising pregnant women on the preferred route of delivery.
Normative data for triceps and subscapular skinfold thicknesses of Chinese infants
Authors: FOK TAI‐FAI , HON KAM‐LUN ELLIS , NG PAK‐CHEUNG , WONG MING‐CHUNG ERIC , SO HUNG‐KWAN , LAU TAK‐FAI JOSEPH , CHOW CHUN‐BONG , LEE WAI‐HONG ,   The Hong Kong Neonatal Measurements Working Group
Published: May 2006

Skinfold thickness is a validated parameter of subcutaneous fat accumulation. Data on triceps and subscapular skinfold thicknesses were collected from 10 043 (5318 males, 4725 females) singletons at 12 hospitals with gestation 31–42 wk. The LMS method using maximum penalized likelihood was used to perform model fitting of the anthropometric centiles for these parameters. Both triceps and subscapular skinfold thicknesses were greater in girls than in boys. Racial differences were found when comparing with other populations. The triceps subscapular skinfold thicknesses of Chinese infants were significantly lower than those of US white infants but larger than those of African‐American infants, Israeli infants, Spanish infants and Indian infants.

Conclusion: This study provides the first set of references for the triceps and subscapular skinfold thicknesses of Chinese infants by gestation and gender. These data are helpful in determining the nutritional status of infants at birth and in assessing the postnatal growth of Chinese infants.
Herbage mass, nutritive value and canopy spectral reflectance of bermudagrass pastures
Authors: Starks P. J. , Zhao D. , Phillips W. A. , Coleman S. W.
Published: May 2006

Timely and accurate detection of above‐ground herbage mass and the nutritive value of pastures can help the more efficient adjustment of stocking rate and determine the timing of protein supplements to be fed to livestock grazing these pastures. The objectives of this study were to determine seasonal variation in herbage mass, neutral‐detergent fibre (NDF), acid‐detergent fibre (ADF) and crude protein (CP) concentrations of herbage and canopy reflectance of pastures of genotypes of bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon L.), and to analyse the relationships between these descriptors of nutritive value of herbage and canopy reflectance in broad spectral wavebands. Three bermudagrass pastures of varieties Midland and Ozarka, and an experimental hybrid, 74 × 12‐12, were established in 1991 and had received the same field management and stocking rate. Canopy reflectance, above‐ground herbage mass of DM and CP, and NDF, ADF and CP concentrations of herbage were measured in the growing seasons of 2002 and 2003. Year, genotype and sampling date significantly (P < 0·05) affected most measured variables. Ratios of canopy reflectance in blue to red (R(blue)/R(red)) and in near infrared to red (R(NIR)/R(red)) wavebands were highly correlated with concentrations of CP in herbage and herbage mass of CP but the relationships between reflectance ratios and NDF and ADF concentrations of herbage were relatively low. It is concluded that the CP concentration of herbage and herbage mass of CP of pastures can be estimated throughout the growing season using remote sensing of canopy reflectance and the information may be used for pasture and livestock management.
Relationships between hypoglycaemia and gastric emptying abnormalities in insulin‐treated diabetic patients1
Authors: Lysy J. , Israeli E. , Strauss‐liviatan N. , Goldin E.
Published: May 2006

Abstract  We hypothesize that hypoglycaemia in insulin‐treated diabetic patients may result from gastric emptying abnormalities causing insulin and food absorption mismatching. We tested gastric emptying in insulin‐treated diabetic patients with unexplained hypoglycaemia and without dyspepsia and in diabetic patients without hypoglycaemia, prospectively. Thirty‐one diabetic patients with unexplained hypoglycaemic events within 2 h of insulin injection and 18 insulin‐treated diabetic patients without hypoglycaemic events underwent gastric emptying breath tests, glycaemic control and autonomic nerve function. Gastric emptying tests were abnormal in 26 (83.9%) and in four (22.2%) patients with and without hypoglycaemia, respectively (P < 0.001). Gastric emptying was significantly slower in hypoglycaemic diabetic patients (t1/2 139.9 ± 74.1 vs 77.8 ± 23.3 and tlag 95.8 ± 80.3 vs 32.84 ± 16.95 min, P < 0.001 for both comparisons; t‐tests). A significant association between hypoglycaemic patients and abnormal values of t1/2 and tlag was found (P < 0.001). Gastric emptying abnormalities were more frequent in hypoglycaemic patients. We suggest gastric emptying tests for diabetic patients with unexplained hypoglycaemic events.
Distinctive characteristics of diabetes mellitus after hematopoietic cell transplantation during childhood
Authors: Bonanomi Sonia , Gaiero Alberto , Masera Nicoletta , Rovelli Attilio , Uderzo Cornelio , Fichera Graziella , Mulas Roberta , Zecca Silvia , Pozzi Lorena , Cohen Amnon
Published: May 2006

Abstract:  We report on six patients who developed diabetes mellitus after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). The prevalence in our cohort of long‐term survivors after HCT performed below 18 yr of age was 3%. The median age at onset of diabetes was 22.4 yr (range 11.3–34.4). The median period between HCT and diabetes was 10.1 yr (range 5.6–22.1). Five out of the six patients received total irradiation therapy and five had other endocrinological abnormalities. The onset of diabetes in all patients was insidious and none had diabetic ketoacidosis. Body mass indexes at diabetes onset were within normal levels. The clinical and laboratory features that characterized our patients with diabetes after HCT make it difficult to classify them as having type‐1 or type‐2 diabetes. The relatively high prevalence of diabetes and its insidious onset in this group of patients, advocate clinicians to evaluate carefully even slight variations in fasting blood glucose, usually included in the routine biochemistry follow‐up. These data also suggest that HbA1c and oral glucose‐tolerance test should be added to the follow‐up program of late complications if fasting blood glucose levels are slightly increased.
How and why do occupational therapists use the OTseeker evidence database?
Authors: McCluskey Annie , Lovarini Meryl , Bennett Sally , McKenna Kryss , Tooth Leigh , Hoffmann Tammy
Published: May 2006

Background:  OTseeker is a free online bibliographic database containing systematic reviews and methodological ratings of randomised controlled trials relevant to occupational therapy. The database aims to help therapists efficiently identify high quality pre‐appraised research.

Aim:  This study explored the search practices of therapists who regularly used OTseeker, what they did with the information retrieved and their perceptions of the database.

Sample:  A purposive sample of 11 occupational therapists was recruited in 2004. All had visited OTseeker at least five times in the previous 12 months.

Study design:  Qualitative.

Methods:  A semistructured interview was conducted with each participant. Grounded theory methods were used for analysis.

Findings:  Five distinct categories were identified: reasons for visiting OTseeker, learning about OTseeker, search times and locations, using information from OTseeker, and improving OTseeker. Therapists used the database to teach or model evidence‐based practice, answer clinical questions and keep up‐to‐date. Suggestions for improvement focussed on search functionality, access to abstracts and the location of the PEDro rating scale. Only two participants synthesised information from OTseeker into a summary, and/or used it to inform client reports.

Conclusion:  This study suggests that OTseeker is helping to increase research utilisation by occupational therapists. Further research is needed to help therapists apply research evidence to change practice and policy.
Directed microspore‐specific recombination of transgenic alleles to prevent pollen‐mediated transmission of transgenes
Authors: Mlynárová Ludmila , Conner Anthony J. , Nap Jan‐Peter
Published: May 2006

A major challenge for future genetically modified (GM) crops is to prevent undesired gene flow of transgenes to plant material intended for another use. Recombinase‐mediated auto excision of transgenes directed by a tightly controlled microspore‐specific promoter allows efficient removal of either the selectable marker gene or of all introduced transgenes during microsporogenesis. This way, transgene removal becomes an integral part of the biology of pollen maturation, not requiring any external stimulus such as chemical induction by spraying. We here show the feasibility of engineering transgenic plants to produce pollen devoid of any transgene. Highly efficient excision of transgenes from tobacco pollen was achieved with a potential failure rate of at most two out of 16 800 seeds (0.024%). No evidence for either premature activation or absence of activation of the recombinase system was observed under stress conditions in the laboratory. This approach can prevent adventitious presence of transgenes in non‐GM crops or related wild species by gene flow. Such biological containment may help the deployment and management of coexistence practices to support consumer choice and will promote clean molecular farming for the production of high‐value compounds in plants.
Rate/Mean Regression for Multiple‐Sequence Recurrent Event Data with Missing Event Category
Authors: SCHAUBEL DOUGLAS , CAI JIANWEN
Published: May 2006

Abstract. Censored recurrent event data frequently arise in biomedical studies. Often, the events are not homogenous, and may be categorized. We propose semiparametric regression methods for analysing multiple‐category recurrent event data and consider the setting where event times are always known, but the information used to categorize events may be missing. Application of existing methods after censoring events of unknown category (i.e. ‘complete‐case’ methods) produces consistent estimators only when event types are missing completely at random, an assumption which will frequently fail in practice. We propose methods, based on weighted estimating equations, which are applicable when event category missingness is missing at random. Parameter estimators are shown to be consistent and asymptotically normal. Finite sample properties are examined through simulations and the proposed methods are applied to an end‐stage renal disease data set obtained from a national organ failure registry.
THE SHAPING OF ANGIOSPERM TAXONOMY
Authors: WALTERS S. M.
Published: May 2006

Summary

Angiosperm classification is to be understood in relation to its development against a particular historical and philosophical background—that of seventeenth‐ and eighteenth‐century Europe. The selection of the world's flora and the botanical literature available to Linnaeus and his immediate successors determined the main shape of the classification which we use today.

Willis's generalization about the relationship between the age of a taxon and its size (part of his so‐called ‘A.S.A. hypothesis’) is valid enough, both for families (if size is judged by number of genera) and for genera (if size is judged by number of species). Willis, however, thought of the age of the taxon in evolutionary terms; all that is necessary to validate the generalization is to interpret ‘age’ quite literally as the number of years since the particular taxon was created in the mind of the taxonomist.

A corollary of this thesis is that we have no reason to think that Angiosperm classification would be substantially the same if botany had developed in, say, New Zealand in the nineteenth century instead of medieval and post‐medieval Europe. The stability of Angiosperm families, essentially unchanged since de Jussieu, is no evidence of their ‘correctness’; family boundaries might be seriously different, and the main reference purposes of the classification still be adequately served.

Taxonomists should accept that their function is to provide a convenient reference system for the science as a whole; they would then be very conservative in suggesting changes to the existing system, which is convenient enough, and could devote their efforts more practically to making available in a reasonably accessible form the enormous body of taxonomic information already accumulated in the specialist literature.
THE TILIA DECLINE: AN ANTHROPOGENIC INTERPRETATION
Authors: TURNER JUDITH
Published: May 2006

Summary

Evidence is presented from five sites that the decrease in the Tilia pollen frequency seen in many British pollen diagrams is caused by human activity in the woodlands rather than by a change in climate. Analysis of the pollen diagrams makes it probable that there was considerable local variation in the composition of these woodlands and in the nature of prehistoric man's influence on them. Radiocarbon dates show that a major decline in the Tilia pollen frequency has taken place at various times. This means that the VII/VIII zone boundary, as originally defined by changes in tree‐pollen frequencies, has little or no climatic significance and the difficulty that has been encountered in defining its exact position follows from the fact that human activity is a much more variable influence upon vegetation than a change in climate.
LATE‐GLACIAL AND POST‐GLACIAL DEPOSITS AT MALHAM, YORKSHIRE
Authors: PIGOTT C. D. , PIGOTT M. E.
Published: May 2006

Summary

Post‐glacial marl in Malham Tarn and marl and peat in Tarn Moss overlie Late‐glacial clays. Pollen analysis suggests that juniper scrub occupied the limestone upland during the Late‐glacial period. In the Post‐glacial period this was supplanted by hazel scrub (possibly with pine) and subsequently oak and elm may have been present. Forest destruction apparently began in the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age but was accelerated during the Iron Age, Norse and Monastic periods. There is no clear evidence to suggest that widespread soil erosion accompanied deforestation and the limestone pavements would seem to have lacked a covering of mineral soil since the Last Glaciations.
THE FLORAL ANATOMY OF ELETTARIA CARDAMOMUM MATON, A RE‐INVESTIGATION
Authors: PAI R. M.
Published: May 2006

Summary

The re‐investigation indicates that the epigynous glands of the cardamom flower, as in other species of Zingiberaceae, are vascularized emergences of the ovary. Anatomical evidence has been adduced in support of the classical view that the labellum of the cardamom flower is a double structure. The observations of Thompson and Gregory, in this connection, are re‐interpreted and it is shown that the mid‐anterior strand in the labellum is a fusion product of the marginal traces of the two component members belonging to the inner androecial whorl.
A NEW BASE NUMBER IN THE GENUS LYGODIUM
Authors: ROY S. K. , MANTON I.
Published: May 2006

Summary

Chromosome counts have been carried out on thirteen specimens of Lygodium, mostly of known wild origin from various parts of the oriental tropics. Five specimens represent taxa not previously investigated from any source. The results confirm some previous records, notably the presence in the genus of two base numbers (n = 29 and n = 30) and their multiples, but they add a new base number (n = 28) and multiples. Some phyletic and other implications of these findings are discussed.
AN IMPROVED PEAT SAMPLER
Authors: JOWSEY P. C.
Published: May 2006

Summary

A peat sampler is described which eliminates the more serious faults of the Hiller type. The samples obtained are free from distortion, readily accessible for measurement and examination and may easily be removed intact for transport to the laboratory.
A GENECOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE GENUS PICEA IN BRITISH COLUMBIA*
Authors: ROCHE L.
Published: May 2006

Summary

The study is divided into two parts. Part A is an investigation of geographic variation in immature spruce populations and refers to the growth behaviour of 150 spruce populations grown in a relatively uniform environment. The seed, which was collected throughout the white, Engelmann and Sitka spruce complex in British Columbia, was sown in a coastal nursery on Vancouver Island. Detailed measurements were made on these populations during two growing seasons. In the laboratory seed samples of the same populations were X‐rayed to determine embryo development, and subsequently germinated at 25° C, Part B is a study of geographic variation in mature spruce populations and refers to a biometrical assessment of variation in cone scale morphology which was carried out on a mass collection of spruce cones collected in 157 areas throughout the range of spruce in British Columbia. This collection, therefore, embraces all four spruce species of the province. These are Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong,) Carr.), black spruce (P. mariana (Mill,) B,S,P,), white spruce (P. glauca (Nlotnc) Voss subsp, glauca) and Engelmann spruce (P. glauca (Moench) Voss subsp, engelmannii). All measurements were subjected to statistical analysis in order to determine the relation between the variation observed and factors of the environment at place of origin. The results of both studies testify to the overwhelming influence of environmental pressures associated with altitude with respect to variation in the white‐Engelmann complex. In regard to the white‐Sitka complex both studies indicate the extent and effect of the penetration of Sitka spruce populations into populations of white spruce. Zones of hybridization between spruce species are characterized. The ecological significance of photoperiodic adaptation in spruce, and the relative importance of flushing and dormancy in the microevolution of the species are considered. The bearing of the results on the taxonomic status of the species in British Columbia is discussed, and recommendations are made in regard to the silviculture of the species in this province.
POLLEN‐ANALYTICAL EVIDENCE FOR THE EFFECT OF PREHISTORIC AGRICULTURE ON THE VEGETATION OF NORTH DERBYSHIRE
Authors: HICKS SHEILA P.
Published: May 2006

Summary

Six upland sites are investigated and a pollen diagram produced from each. On each diagram a series of clearance phases is detected. These clearance phases are dated on the Leash Fen diagram by a series of nine radiocarbon dates. The Totley Moss and Hipper Sick diagram each have a single radiocarbon date for the first appearance of Plantago lanceolata. The archaeological evidence for the region is reviewed and the distribution of artifacts for each period noted. Reference is also made to spot pollen counts made in association with archaeological sites. Individual clearance phases and archaeological periods are then correlated by means of the radiocarbon evidence.

It is deduced that clearance of the Atlantic mixed‐oak forest was small scale and temporary throughout the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, and did not become extensive until the Iron Age. Up until and including the Iron Age pastoralism dominated the economy but during the Roman occupation a stimulus was given to arable cultivation. By the post‐Roman‐pre‐Conquest period, forest clearance and soil erosion had degraded the upland soils to such an extent that a shallow peat cover was able to develop over large areas. The treeless heather moorland of today represents a culmination of this process.
ULTRASTRUCTURE OF CONIDIUM ONTOGENY IN THE DEUTEROMYCETE FUNGUSSTACHYBOTRYS ATRACORDA
Authors: CAMPBELL R.
Published: May 2006

Summary

Various fixation methods were used to study conidium ontogeny inStachybotrys atraCorda. Phialides arise by subterminal branching of the conidiophore. The first spore originates from the inner layer of the phialide tip, breaking the other wall layers. Thereafter spores are produced from the inside of the phialide neck where new wall layers are formed. Spores are cut off from the phialide by a septum and this splits to release the spore. As spore production ceases the phialide neck becomes plugged, the basal septum of the phialide becomes plugged and the cytoplasm vacuolates. Spores have a rough, pigmented two‐layered wall and the usual organelles.
LONG‐RANGE TRANSMISSION OF TREE POLLEN TO SHETLAND
Authors: TYDESLEY J.B.
Published: May 2006

Summary

The paper describes how absolute values of pollen deposition may be calculated from the results of volumetric sampling, supplemented by routine meteorological data. Daily mean values of concentration of birch pollen in the air at Lerwick, Shetland in 1970 and 1971 are presented, and these are used to calculate daily and annual depositions. The results are consistent with what is known about the occurrence of tree pollen in fossil and recent deposits in Shetland.
LONG‐RANGE TRANSMISSION OF TREE POLLEN TO SHETLAND III. FREQUENCIES OVER THE PAST HUNDRED YEARS
Authors: TYLDESLEY J. B.
Published: May 2006

The catches of tree pollen at Lerwick in 1970–72 are related to Lamb's catalogue of daily weather types. This is done by examination of weather maps on particular days, and statistically by finding the effectiveness of certain weather types for pollen transport, and by examining the source areas of trajectories. It is found that in April‐July, of all days when the surface track is from likely source areas, 50–80% bring measurable amounts of tree pollen to Shetland, depending on the weather type.

The results are applied to statistics of the frequencies of the different weather types. It is estimated that the number of days per year of airborne tree pollen at Lerwick is 15 ±3, and that there has been no secular trend in this figure over the past hundred years.
Broadening and deepening or broadening versus deepening: The question of enlargement and Europe's ‘hesitant Europeans’
Authors: KARP JEFFREY A. , BOWLER SHAUN
Published: May 2006

Abstract.  The European Union sees the inclusion of many Eastern European states – enlargement – as a natural progression in the process of building an ‘ever closer union’. For the European Commission in particular, the process of enlargement (broadening) is part of the process of integration and acts as a complement to the development of a stronger role for the European Union and its institutions or deepening of integration. Yet as the first Irish referendum on the Nice Treaty showed, not all of European's citizens see the two processes of enlargement and integration in the same light. This article addresses two related questions. First, how are attitudes towards deepening and broadening related, and do European citizens see them as complementary or contradictory? Second, and related to the first, what factors drive popular attitudes towards enlargement?
Countering Punitiveness: Understanding Stability in Canada's Imprisonment Rate
Authors: Doob Anthony N. , Webster Cheryl Marie
Published: May 2006

Canada's imprisonment rate has not changed appreciably since 1960. This stability contrasts with the increased imprisonment rates experienced by Canada's most obvious comparators—the United States and England and Wales. We examine this divergence and propose several interrelated explanations for Canada's anomalous pattern. While Canada is shown not to be immune to pressure for harsher practices and policies, it has been able to counter or balance these trends with other more moderating forces. In particular, we suggest that Canadians have largely been able to escape several of the wider forces or “risk factors” at the root of higher incarceration in other countries. Further, we suggest that certain protective factors of a historical, cultural, and structural nature can also be identified that have limited the extent to which Canada has adopted the same punitive policies documented in the United States and England and Wales.
Automatic Implantable Cardioverter‐Defibrillators in Chagas' Heart Disease Patients with Malignant Ventricular Arrhythmias
Authors: CARDINALLI‐NETO AUGUSTO , GRECO OSVALDO T. , BESTETTI REINALDO B.
Published: May 2006

A total of 46 consecutive Chagas' disease patients had an automatic cardioverter defibrillator implanted at our institution from October 1998 to January 2004. A retrospective longitudinal study was carried out to identity type of life‐threatening ventricular arrhythmias as well as type of therapy delivered. Of these, 41 (91%) had been recovered from cardiac arrest. Five (15%) of 33 patients in whom echocardiography was done had no left ventricular function. Antiarrhythmic therapy was delivered to 37 (80%) patients during postimplant follow‐up. Thirty‐one of 37 (84%) patients received both shock and antitachycardia pacing, five (13%) only antitachycardia pacing, and one (3%) patient only shock. Median time to first shock was 16 days, varying from 1 to 576 days. Ventricular fibrillation was the cause of first shock in 12 patients (32%), ventricular tachycardia in 11 (29%), and ventricular tachycardia not responding to antitachycardia pacing degenerating into ventricular fibrillation in nine (24%). Five patients with ventricular tachycardia were treated with antitachycardia pacing. Probability of freedom from device discharged was 47% at 90 days, 34% at 180 days, and 9% at 360 days in the postimplant follow‐up. Thus, patients with chronic Chagas' heart disease recovered from cardiac arrest have a peculiar arrhythmogenic profile characterized by a high frequency of ventricular fibrillation and no left ventricular systolic dysfunction and a short period of time for first shock.