bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Negotiating the Complex Interface between State Immunity and Human Rights: An Analysis of the International Court of Justice Decision in Germany v. Italy
Authors: Barker J. Craig 
Published: October 2013

Abstract
One of the most controversial areas of contemporary international law is the interface between immunities and human rights. International immunities have been successfully challenged on human rights grounds in certain jurisdictions. However, to date, no international court tribunal has endorsed such challenges. In its judgment in Germany v. Italy the International Court of Justice re-asserted the conservative approach to the relationship between State immunity and human rights, which rejects the claim that State immunity is “trumped” by hierarchically superior human rights norms. This article examines the Court’s reasoning, before turning to consider the alternative vision of the interface between State immunity and human rights presented by Judge Cinçado Trindade. While persuasive, Trindade’s analysis must ultimately be rejected. The overtly positivist and formalistic approach of the Court, which is itself open to criticism, was, nevertheless, necessitated by the failure of States to provide for a human rights exception in the United Nations Convention on the Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property 2004, signifying a strong opinio juris against the further limitation of State immunity at the present time. Nevertheless, the Court carefully sought to limit the effects of its judgment by limiting its focus to the specific questions before it.
Atmospheric Motion Vectors from Model Simulations. Part I: Methods and Characterization as Single-Level Estimates of Wind
Authors: Bormann Niels , Hernandez-Carrascal Angeles , Borde Régis , Lutz Hans-Joachim , Otkin Jason A. , Wanzong Steve 
Published: October 2013

AbstractThe objective of this study is to improve the characterization of satellite-derived atmospheric motion vectors (AMVs) and their errors to guide developments in the use of AMVs in numerical weather prediction. AMVs tend to exhibit considerable systematic and random errors that arise in the derivation or the interpretation of AMVs as single-level point observations of wind. One difficulty in the study of AMV errors is the scarcity of collocated observations of clouds and wind. This study uses instead a simulation framework: geostationary imagery for Meteosat-8 is generated from a high-resolution simulation with the Weather Research and Forecasting regional model, and AMVs are derived from sequences of these images. The forecast model provides the “truth” with a sophisticated description of the atmosphere. The study considers infrared and water vapor AMVs from cloudy scenes. This is the first part of a two-part paper, and it introduces the framework and provides a first evaluation in terms of the brightness temperatures of the simulated images and the derived AMVs. The simulated AMVs show a considerable global bias in the height assignment (60–75 hPa) that is not observed in real AMVs. After removal of this bias, however, the statistics comparing the simulated AMVs with the true model wind show characteristics that are similar to statistics comparing real AMVs with short-range forecasts (speed bias and root-mean-square vector difference typically agree to within 1 m s−1). This result suggests that the error in the simulated AMVs is comparable to or larger than that in real AMVs. There is evidence for significant spatial, temporal, and vertical error correlations, with the scales for the spatial error correlations being consistent with estimates for real data.
Impact of Potential Large-Scale Irrigation on the West African Monsoon and Its Dependence on Location of Irrigated Area
Authors: Im Eun-Soon , Marcella Marc P. , Eltahir Elfatih A. B. 
Published: October 2013

Abstract
This study investigates the impact of potential large-scale irrigation on the West African monsoon using the Massachusetts Institute of Technology regional climate model (MRCM). A new irrigation module is implemented to assess the impact of location and scheduling of irrigation on rainfall distribution over West Africa. A control simulation (without irrigation) and eight sensitivity experiments (with irrigation) are performed and compared to discern the effects of irrigation location and scheduling. It is found that the irrigation effect on soil moisture could force significant changes in spatial distribution and magnitude of rainfall, depending on the latitudinal location of irrigation. In general, the large irrigation-induced surface cooling owing to anomalously wet soil tends to suppress moist convection and rainfall, which in turn induces local subsidence and low-level anticyclonic circulation. These local effects are dominated by a consistent reduction of local rainfall over the irrigated land, irrespective of its location. However, the remote response of rainfall distribution to irrigation exhibits a significant sensitivity to the latitudinal position of irrigation and the intraseasonal variation of supplied irrigation water. The low-level northeasterly airflow associated with an anticyclonic circulation centered over the irrigation area, induced at optimal location and timing, would enhance the extent of low-level convergence areas through interaction with the prevailing monsoon flow, leading to a significant increase in rainfall. As the location of the irrigation area is moved from the coast northward, the regional rainfall change exhibits a significant decrease first, then increases gradually to a maximum corresponding to irrigation centered around 20°N, before it declines again.
Scattering of Low-Mode Internal Waves at Finite Isolated Topography
Authors: Legg Sonya 
Published: October 2013

Abstract
A series of two-dimensional numerical simulations examine the breaking of first-mode internal waves at isolated ridges, independently varying the relative height of the topography compared to the depth of the ocean h0/H0; the relative steepness of the topographic slope compared to the slope of the internal wave group velocity γ; and the Froude number of the incoming internal wave Fr0. The fraction of the incoming wave energy, which is reflected back toward deep water, transmitted beyond the ridge, and lost to dissipation and mixing, is diagnosed from the simulations. For critical slopes, with γ = 1, the fraction of incoming energy lost at the slope scales approximately like h0/H0, independent of the incoming wave Froude number. For subcritical slopes, with γ &lt; 1, waves break and lose a substantial proportion of their energy if the maximum Froude number, estimated as Frmax = Fr0/(1 − h0/H0)2, exceeds a critical value, found empirically to be about 0.3. The dissipation at subcritical slopes therefore increases as both incoming wave Froude number and topographic height increase. At critical slopes, the dissipation is enhanced along the slope facing the incoming wave. In contrast, at subcritical slopes, dissipation is small until the wave amplitude is sufficiently enhanced by the shoaling topography to exceed the critical Froude number; then large dissipation extends all the way to the surface. The results are shown to generalize to variable stratification and different topographies, including axisymmetric seamounts. The regimes for low-mode internal wave breaking at isolated critical and subcritical topography identified by these simulations provide guidance for the parameterization of the mixing due to radiated internal tides.
Development and Analysis of the Systematically Merged Atlantic Regional Temperature and Salinity Climatology for Oceanic Heat Content Estimates
Authors: Meyers P. C. , Shay L. K. , Brewster J. K. 
Published: October 2013

Abstract
An oceanic climatology to calculate upper-ocean thermal structure was developed for application year-round in the North Atlantic Ocean basin. The Systematically Merged Atlantic Regional Temperature and Salinity (SMARTS) Climatology is used in a two-layer model to project sea surface height anomalies (SSHA) into the water column at ¼° resolution. SMARTS blended monthly temperature and salinity fields from the World Ocean Atlas 2001 (WOA01) and Generalized Digital Environmental Model (GDEM) version 3.0 based on their performance compared to in situ measurements. Daily mean isotherm depths of 20°C (D20) and 26°C (D26) (and their mean ratio), reduced gravity, and mixed layer depth (MLD) were estimated from the climatology. This higher-resolution climatology resolves features in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), including the Loop Current (LC) and eddy shedding region.
Using SMARTS with satellite-derived SSHA and SST fields, daily values of isotherm depths, mixed layer depths, and ocean heat content (OHC) were calculated from 1998 to 2012. OHC is an important scalar when determining the ocean’s impact on tropical cyclone intensification, because it is a better predictor of SST cooling during hurricane passage. Airborne- and ship-deployed expendable bathythermographs (XBT), long-term moorings, and Argo profiling floats provided over 50 000 thermal profiles to assess satellite retrievals of isotherm depths and OHC using the SMARTS Climatology. The OHC calculation presented in this document reduces errors basinwide by 20%, with a 35% error reduction in the GOM.
Stroke volume paradox in heart failure: mathematical validation
Authors: Adhyapak Srilakshmi M , Parachuri V Rao 
Published: October 2013

Background In some patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy, despite large increases in ventricular size with decreased cardiac output, the paradox of preserved stroke volume has been observed. Following surgical ventricular restoration, despite marked improvements clinically and in ventricular volumes and ejection fraction, a decrease in stroke volume was observed. Methods 101 consecutive patients with postinfarction left ventricular aneurysms were studied by 2-dimensional echocardiography and contrast ventriculography at baseline, and 57 of these patients at 1.7 to 2.2 years (mean 1.95 ± 0.44 years) after surgical ventricular restoration. Results Surgical ventricular restoration resulted in a decrease in end-diastolic volume index of 40.2 mL (95% confidence interval: 33.6–46.7) and stroke volume index of 10.0 mL (95% confidence interval: 6.6–13.5), and an increase in ejection fraction of 6.7% (95% confidence interval: 5.5–7.9). The stroke volume index had a significant linear relationship with the end-diastolic volume index at rest in patients with end-diastolic volume index <150 mL ( r = 0.64, p < 0.001). In patients with end-diastolic volume index >150 mL, this linear relationship was not seen. The change in end-diastolic volume index and stroke volume index had a significant linear relationship ( r = 0.72, p < 0.001) that persisted at 1.95 years after surgery. Conclusions In ischemic cardiomyopathy, stroke volume increases linearly with increases in end-diastolic volume up to a certain magnitude of end-diastolic volume, beyond which it decreases. Hence, following surgical ventricular restoration, decreases in stroke volume are not a reflection of impaired cardiac function.
Efficacy of arginine supplementation for the treatment of air leakage
Authors: Obuchi Toshiro , Imakiire Takayuki , Yoneda Satoshi , Iwasaki Akinori 
Published: October 2013

Background recently, the role of the amino acid arginine in wound healing has been emphasized. We studied whether postoperative enteral arginine supplementation can contribute to the resolution of prolonged air leakage after lung resections. Methods 42 patients undergoing lung resection at our institutions from 2009 to 2012 were enrolled in this study. In these patients, continuous air leakage in the expiratory phase was identified on the day of surgery and on the following day. The patients were divided into 2 groups; the first group included 21 patients consuming 3 packs of an arginine supplement beverage daily postoperatively, and the second group (control) included 21 patients who did not consume any additional supplements. The durations of air leakage and chest tube drainage were compared between the two groups. Results the mean durations of air leakage and chest tube drainage were shorter in the arginine supplementation group (4.4 vs. 6.7 days, p = 0.010; 6.5 vs. 8.3 days, p = 0.042, respectively). Conclusion postoperative enteral arginine supplementation may contribute to stopping air leaks after lung surgery.
Atrial natriuretic peptide property on the ischemic myocardium inducing HSP72
Authors: Olivito Silvio , Chello Massimo , Covino Elvio , Mastroroberto Pasquale 
Published: October 2013

Background the purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of atrial natriuretic peptide on ischemic myocardium through the induction of heat-shock protein 72. Methods 30 isolated rabbit hearts perfused on isolated heart apparatus were randomly assigned to receive either warm Krebs-Henseleit solution with 1 µmol L−1 atrial natriuretic peptide ( n = 15) or warm Krebs-Henseleit solution without atrial natriuretic peptide ( n = 15) in preischemic, ischemic, and postischemic conditions. In all rabbit hearts, global ischemia was produced by clamping the aortic and atrial inflow lines. Concentrations of atrial natriuretic peptide were measured in hearts with left ventricular dysfunction following ischemia, and correlated with the hypertrophic growth sustained by overexpression of heat-shock protein 72 microRNA-133. Results the levels of atrial natriuretic peptide were markedly higher in the group that received atrial natriuretic peptide, and strongly correlated with both band lengths of heat-shock protein 72 and overexpression of microRNA-133 in the hypertrophic myocyte. Conclusions perfusion levels of atrial natriuretic peptide induce increased expression of heat-shock protein 72 microRNA-133 in dysfunctional left ventricle.
Improving breast cancer detection using ultrasonography in asymptomatic women with non-fatty breast density
Authors: Korpraphong Pornpim , Limsuwarn Panida , Tangcharoensathien Woranuj , Ansusingha Tamnit , Thephamongkhol Kullathorn , Chuthapisith Suebwong 
Published: October 2013

Background Mammography (MX) is a reliable modality for detection of breast cancer in asymptomatic women. Use of additional whole breast ultrasonography (US) for breast cancer screening is widely recognized, in particular in women with dense breast parenchyma. Purpose To determine the subgroup of women, according to breast density and age, who receive most benefit from US following MX for detection of breast cancer in an asymptomatic condition. Material and Methods The study was conducted in asymptomatic women who had non-fatty breast parenchyma using MX and US during January 2006 and December 2007. Mammographic breast density was classified as recommended by ACR BI-RADS lexicon. Non-fatty breast referred to D2, D3, and D4. US was performed by the same radiologists who interpreted MX with a handheld machine during the same visit. Data on demographics, cancer detection rate (CDR), and incremental cancer detection rate (ICDR) were analyzed using 95% confident interval (CI). Results Of 14,483 breast cancer screenings in women who had non-fatty breast density, 115 cancers were documented. The mean age of cancer patients was 49.6 years. Of 115 cancers, 105 were evidenced on images (31 with MX alone, 19 with US alone, and 55 with both MX and US). Overall CDR was 7.9 per 1000 examination (95% CI, 6.5–9.5). CDR for MX only (MX-CDR) was 6.5 per 1000 examinations (95% CI, 5.2–7.9). Additional US could significantly improve CDR ( P < 0.001; 95% CI, 0.9–2.2); US-ICDR was 1.4 per 1000 examinations. According to age group, the group of 40–59 years had statistically significant improvement of ICDR ( P < 0.001). The ICDR was highest in D4 breast density (D4) (US-ICDR = 2.5 per 1000 examinations). Conclusion Use of US adjunct to MX for detection of breast cancer in asymptomatic non-fatty, average-risk women for detection of breast cancer is a promising diagnostic procedure. A significant benefit was documented, in particular, in women aged 40–59 years old, and in women with D4 breast density.
CT angiography for pulmonary embolism detection: the effect of breathing on pulmonary artery enhancement using a 64-row detector system
Authors: Renne Julius , Falck Christian von , Ringe Kristina Imeen , Raatschen Hans-Jürgen , Wacker Frank , Shin Hoen-Oh 
Published: October 2013

Background Computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) is used most often in routine clinical practice for the assessment of a suspected pulmonary embolism. The diagnostic accuracy relies on sufficient contrast enhancement. Purpose: To evaluate whether image acquisition during shallow breathing can improve the image quality in patients with insufficient contrast enhancement during breath-hold examinations. Material and Methods A total of 2786 CT pulmonary angiographies, acquired on a 64-row CT during deep-inspiration breath-hold, were reviewed. Twenty-four examinations were considered non-diagnostic due to poor contrast enhancement in the pulmonary arteries (PA), although they showed preserved vascular enhancement of the superior vena cava (SVC) and the ascending aorta (AO). Eleven flawed CTPA examinations, including severe breathing artifacts and incorrect triggering were excluded. In 13 of the remaining patients, the examination was repeated during shallow breathing. Vascular contrast enhancement was compared between both scans by measuring the relative enhancement within the SVC, the main PA, and the AO. Image quality was scored by two, clinically experienced radiologists. The values are given as median and [25th;75th] quartile. Results There was a significant difference in the CT values for the PA between the repeated scans ( P = 0.0002, Wilcoxon test), and with the CTPA in deep-inspiration showing a median enhancement of 97 HU (59–173), compared with 303 HU (239–385) in the CTPA acquired during free breathing. The differences for both the AO ( P = 0.54) and the SVC ( P = 0.78) were not significant. Scoring for the attenuation quality rose significantly ( P = 0.0002) and no severe motion artifacts were detected on either scans. Conclusion If there is insufficient pulmonary artery enhancement during CTPA, attenuation of the pulmonary arteries can be improved by acquisition during shallow breathing and is without significant loss of the overall diagnostic image quality.
Imaging characteristics of primary intracranial teratoma
Authors: Liu Zhenyin , Lv Xiaofei , Wang Wensheng , An Jie , Duan Fuhong , Feng Xia , Chen Xinjian , Ouyang Bing , Li Songtao , Singh Sristi , Qiu Shijun 
Published: October 2013

Background Primary intracranial teratomas are rare intracranial neoplasms, and are subdivided into mature, immature, and those with malignant transformation. To date, only a few studies of teratoma imaging have been reported. Purpose To describe and characterize the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in a series of 18 patients (16 men/boys and 2 women/girls; mean age, 14.5 years) with pathologically proven teratomas. Material and Methods Findings from medical records and imaging examinations in 18 patients with pathologically confirmed intracranial teratomas from 2001 to 2011were retrospectively reviewed at our two institutions. Two radiologists evaluated the lesion location, shape, size, number, edge, homogeneous or heterogeneous appearance, attenuation, signal intensity, and degree of enhancement. Results All tumors were located within the pineal ( n = 13), parasellar ( n = 2), or suprasellar ( n = 3) regions. The lesions appeared of mixed intensity on MRI, reflecting the histologic heterogeneity, including fibrosis, fatty tissue, calcification, cysts, and keratinocytes. In mature teratomas ( n = 9), seven of nine tumors showed non-enhanced multilocularity or heterogeneous enhancement of the cyst wall on contrast-enhanced T1-weighted (T1W) images. Two of nine tumors showed moderate, heterogeneous enhancement in the solid portion of the lesion; whereas in immature ( n = 7) or malignant transformation ( n = 2) teratomas, heterogeneous, ring-like, intratumoral patchy enhancement was noted on T1W images with contrast. Conclusion Primary intracranial teratomas are usually localized in the pineal and the suprasellar regions, and often present an ovoid or lobulated mass with or without multilocularity on MRI. Marked enhancement of the solid portion or the thick wall of the tumor was the key feature for distinguishing mature teratoma and malignant teratoma.
Chronic exposure of Rutilus rutilus caspicus fingerlings to ambient copper
Authors: Hoseini Seyyed Morteza , Rajabiesterabadi Hamid , Kordrostami Sara 
Published: October 2013

An 8-week trial was conducted to investigate the effect of ambient copper (Cu) on growth performance, physiological characteristics and stress resistance of Caspian roach, Rutilus rutilus caspicus. Fish were exposed to 0 (control), 0.02, 0.04 and 0.06 ppm Cu, and their food intake and growth performance were fortnightly recorded. Also, serum cortisol, glucose, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and sodium (Na) levels were determined after 2 and 8 weeks exposure to ambient Cu. At the end of trial, serum total protein, albumin, globulin and albumin–globulin ratio (A:G) levels, whole body proximate composition and stress tolerance of the fish were measured. Results showed that Cu exposure resulted in a significant suppression in food intake after 2 weeks, which was eliminated after 4 weeks in 0.02 ppm groups and after 6 weeks in 0.04 and 0.06 ppm groups. Cu exposure brought about an inferior growth that recovered in line with the experiment progression, following a dose-dependent manner. Cu-exposed fish showed a dose-dependent increase in serum cortisol, glucose and ALT as well as decrease in serum Na, after 2 weeks. These parameters showed a full recovery in 0.02 ppm group and a partial recovery in 0.04 and 0.06 ppm groups, at the 8th week. Significant suppression in serum total protein, albumin, globulin and A:G levels and whole body dry matter, lipid and protein levels as well as stress resistance was observed in 0.04 and 0.06 ppm groups. It is concluded that Cu exposure could adversely affect growth performance, physiological characteristics and stress resistance of Caspian roach, which might affect its ecological features.
Effect of feeding graded doses of citrinin on apoptosis and oxidative stress in male Wistar rats through the F1 generation
Authors: Singh Nittin Dev , Sharma Anil Kumar , Dwivedi Prabhaker , Leishangthem Geeta Devi , Rahman Shafiqur , Reddy Jamuna , Kumar Manoj 
Published: October 2013

The objective of the present study was to study the effect of graded doses of citrinin (CIT) on apoptosis and oxidative stress in male Wistar rats till F1 generation. The animals were divided into four groups comprising 25 males and 25 females each, that is, group I: 1 ppm CIT; group II: 3 ppm CIT; group III: 5 ppm CIT; and group IV was kept as a control. The male and female animals of all the groups were kept separately and were fed basal rations containing the above-mentioned concentrations of CIT for 10 weeks. After 10 weeks, male and female animals of respective groups were kept for mating (one male/two females). After getting 10 pregnant females, the males were killed. These 10 pregnant females were allowed to give birth to young ones (F1 generation) naturally which were fed CIT in the above-mentioned doses till the age of 6 weeks and then were killed. Apoptosis was analysed in kidneys, liver and testes by DNA ladder pattern, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end-labelling assay and Bcl-2/Bax ratio. Besides, tissue oxidative stress was also analysed. It was concluded in the present study that CIT induces its toxic effects till F1 generation, and apoptosis and oxidative stress both play a very important role in toxicity. The effect of CIT was observed in a dose-dependent manner. However, in kidneys, both the mechanisms (apoptosis and oxidative stress) play their role in inflicting renal damage, while in liver only reactive oxygen species play a major role. Finally, the CIT toxicity did not lead to apoptosis and oxidative stress in male gonads till F1 generation.