bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sporadic rippling muscle disease unmasked by simvastatin
Authors: Baker Steven K. , Tarnopolsky Mark A. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractWe report a 53‐year‐old‐man who developed rippling muscle disease (RMD) 2 months after starting simvastatin therapy for hypercholesterolemia. He experienced stiffness, myalgias, and classic rippling, which was confirmed on clinical examination. Discontinuation of the statin improved his symptoms. Simvastatin therapy was resumed and resulted in a prompt and severe return of his symptoms. Approximately 1 year after symptom onset he developed mild seropositive oculobulbar myasthenia gravis, which spontaneously remitted after 5 months. We postulate that an immune‐mediated disruption of caveolar function was exacerbated by statin exposure. We are unaware of any previous cases of statin‐mediated unmasking of RMD. Muscle Nerve, 2006
Femtosecond pulsed laser deposition of CdS thin films onto quartz substrates
Authors: Tong X. L. , Jiang D. S. , Li Y. , Liu Z. M. , Luo M. Z. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractCdS thin films were grown on quartz substrates using femtosecond pulsed laser deposition. X‐ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), photoluminescence (PL) measurements, and optical transmission spectroscopy were used to characterize the structure and optical properties of the deposited CdS thin films. The influence of substrate temperature in the range 100–600 °C on the structural and optical characteristics of the CdS thin films was systematically studied. The XRD and AFM results show that the crystalline and surface quality of the CdS thin films can be improved with increasing the substrate temperature to 450 °C, but further increasing the substrate temperature to 600 °C may lead to degradation of the crystallinity and surface quality of the CdS thin films. The corresponding PL and optical transmission results show that the optical properties of the CdS thin films deposited by the femtosecond laser ablation technique can be improved by increasing the substrate temperature from 100 to 450 °C. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Grain size reduction in fully dense nanocrystalline yttria‐stabilized zirconia by Al doping
Authors: Madubuonu Anthony , Drings Harald , Roewer Ralf , Schaefer Hans‐Eckhardt 
Published: May 2006

AbstractIn this work it was shown that the crystallite size of fully dense nanocrystalline yttria‐stabilized zirconia (ZrO2·Y2O3) can be reduced substantially by alumina doping. This could improve the oxygen transport properties and give rise to many technical applications, such as in solid oxide fuel cells. It has been recently shown that the oxygen diffusivity in the grain boundaries of nanocrystalline ZrO2·Y2O3 is strongly enhanced compared to the volume diffusivity. The present experiments show that the diffusion constant in alumina‐doped n‐ZrO2·Y2O3 is reduced compared to that of undoped n‐ZrO2·Y2O3. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Thermodynamic study on the role of hydrogen during hydride vapor phase epitaxy of Alx Ga1–xN
Authors: Murakami H. , Kikuchi J. , Kumagai Y. , Koukitu A. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractThermodynamic study for the hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) of Alx Ga1–x N was performed to realize the thick, large size AlGaN wafers. It was found that the hydrogen (H2) in the carrier gas affected the resulting solid composition of the alloy. The solid composition x in Alx Ga1–x N can be controlled by changing the H2 mole fraction in the carrier gas. These facts would be explained by difference in the growth reactions between AlN and GaN. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Piezoresistive and piezoelectric effects in GaN
Authors: Tilak V. , Vertiatchikh A. , Jiang J. , Reeves N. , Dasgupta S. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractGallium nitride is known to have both piezoelectric and piezoresistive properties (A. D. Bykhovski et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 68, 818 (1996) [1] and R. Gaska et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 71, 3817(1997) [2]). GaN's inertness to corrosive chemicals and robustness to high temperature makes it a potential candidate for harsh environment pressure sensor applications. We report piezoresistive and piezoelectric gauge factor measurements done on n‐GaN. Resistor structures were fabricated on 1×1018 cm–3 n‐type doped 250 μm thick GaN and subject to three point bend tests. The gauge factor was measured to be 28 at room temperature. The sample was also heated to 125 °C and the gauge factor was measured to be 17. Metal‐Insulator‐Semiconductor capacitor structures were fabricated on 7×1016 cm–3 n‐typed doped 2 μm thick GaN grown by MOCVD. Three point bend tests were done on the capacitors. The gauge factor was determined at both room temperature to be 167 and at 250 °C to be 104. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Three‐dimensional electroelastic analysis of functionally graded piezoelectric plate via state vector approach
Authors: Fang S. , Shindo Y. , Narita F. , Lin S. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractThree‐dimensional electroelastic formulation is developed to study the response of functionally graded rectangular piezoelectric structures/plates. The electroelastric properties are assumed to vary linearly and nonlinearly in the thickness direction, and exact expressions for all relevant electroelastic variables are obtained through a state vector methodology. Numerical examples are presented and discussed for simply‐supported bi‐layer actuators with functionally graded piezoelectric layers under surface and/or internal electric potential loads. The results presented in this paper are important in the design and characterization of functionally graded piezoelectric materials in applications as microelectromechanical systems.
A framework of context‐awareness support for peer recommendation in the e‐learning context
Authors: Zheng Yanlin , Yano Yoneo 
Published: May 2006

AbstractFor learners in distributed e‐learning environments, it is difficult, but very important, to locate the right peer for collaboration on the right knowledge, at the right time and in the right way. This paper proposes the use of context awareness (CA) to support peer recommendation in the e‐learning context. For this purpose, this paper explores the e‐learning context that involvesknowledge,socialandtechnical contexts. Accordingly, this paper proposes a three‐dimensional CA model for peer recommendation that includesCA to knowledge potential,social proximityandtechnical access. By matching the peer seeker and the peer candidate with respect to these three dimensions, the CA information is promising as an aid to the peer seeker in finding suitable knowledge collaborators. The importance of activity context is highlighted in CA‐supported peer‐recommendation mechanism. A five‐dimensional (who, what, how, when and where) representation approach is suggested for activity‐context description.
Efficiency and Seasonality in the UK Housing Market, 1991–2001*
Authors: Rosenthal Leslie 
Published: May 2006

AbstractThis paper considers the informational efficiency of the UK owner‐occupied housing market over the period 1991–2001. Original small‐area, monthly, quality‐adjusted house price index series are developed from raw housing transaction observations for a number of UK counties and cities. These series are then tested in an autoregressive setting for characteristics indicative of weak market efficiency and seasonality. The major conclusion drawn is that there exists little evidence to support notions of inefficiency in these markets over the period considered.
Inflation Uncertainty, Output Growth Uncertainty and Macroeconomic Performance
Authors: Fountas Stilianos , Karanasos Menelaos , Kim Jinki 
Published: May 2006

AbstractWe use a bivariate generalized autoregressive conditionally heteroskedastic (GARCH) model of inflation and output growth to examine the causality relationship among nominal uncertainty, real uncertainty and macroeconomic performance measured by the inflation and output growth rates. The application of the constant conditional correlation GARCH(1,1) model leads to a number of interesting conclusions. First, inflation does cause negative welfare effects, both directly and indirectly, i.e. via the inflation uncertainty channel. Secondly, in some countries, more inflation uncertainty provides an incentive to Central Banks to surprise the public by raising inflation unexpectedly. Thirdly, in contrast to the assumptions of some macroeconomic models, business cycle variability and the rate of economic growth are related. More variability in the business cycle leads to more output growth.
Early Markers of Prolonged Hospital Stays in Older People: A Prospective, Multicenter Study of 908 Inpatients in French Acute Hospitals
Authors: Lang Pierre‐Olivier , Heitz Damien , Hédelin Guy , Dramé Moustapha , Jovenin Nicolas , Ankri Joël , Somme Dominique , Novella Jean‐Luc , Gauvain Jean Bernard , Couturier Pascal , Voisin Thierry , De Wazière Benoît , Gonthier Régis , Jeandel Claude , Jolly Damien , Saint‐Jean Olivier , Blanchard François 
Published: May 2006

OBJECTIVES: To identify early markers of prolonged hospital stays in older people in acute hospitals.DESIGN: A prospective, multicenter study.SETTING: Nine hospitals in France.PARTICIPANTS: One thousand three hundred six patients aged 75 and older were hospitalized through an emergency department (Sujet Âgé Fragile: Évaluation et suivi (SAFEs) —Frail Elderly Subjects: Evaluation and follow‐up).MEASUREMENTS: Data used in a logistic regression were obtained through a gerontological evaluation of inpatients, conducted in the first week of hospitalization. The center effect was considered in two models as a random and fixed effect. Two limits were used to define a prolonged hospital stay. The first was fixed at 30 days. The second was adjusted for Diagnosis Related Groups according to the French classification (f‐DRG).RESULTS: Nine hundred eight of the 1,306 hospital stays that made up the cohort were analyzed. Two centers (n=298) were excluded because of a large volume of missing f‐DRGs. Two‐thirds of subjects in the cohort analyzed were women (64%), with a mean age of 84. One hundred thirty‐eight stays (15%) lasted more than 30 days; 46 (5%) were prolonged beyond the f‐DRG‐adjusted limit. No sociodemographic variables seemed to influence the length of stay, regardless of the limit used. For the 30‐day limit, only cognitive impairment (odds ratio (OR)=2.2, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.2–4.0) was identified as a marker for prolongation. f‐DRG adjustment revealed other clinical markers. Walking difficulties (OR=2.6, 95% CI=1.2–16.7), fall risk (OR=2.5, 95% CI=1.7–5.3), cognitive impairment (OR=7.1, 95% CI=2.3–49.9), and malnutrition risk (OR=2.5, 95% CI=1.7–19.6) were found to be early markers for prolonged stays, although dependence level and its evolution, estimated using the Katz activity of daily living (ADL) index, were not identified as risk factors.CONCLUSION: When the generally recognized parameters of frailty are taken into account, a set of simple items (walking difficulties, risk of fall, risk of malnutrition, and cognitive impairment) enables a predictive approach to the length of stay of elderly patients hospitalized under emergency circumstances. Katz ADLs were not among the early markers identified.
Megadroughts in the Indian Monsoon Region and Southwest North America and a Mechanism for Associated Multidecadal Pacific Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies
Authors: Meehl Gerald A. , Hu Aixue 
Published: May 2006

Abstract
A 1360-yr control run from a global coupled climate model (the Parallel Climate Model) is analyzed. It simulates “megadroughts” in the southwestern United States and Indian monsoon regions. The megadroughts represent extreme events of naturally occurring multidecadal precipitation variations linked to the dominant pattern of multidecadal SST variability in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Gaining insight into the occurrence of megadroughts thus requires an understanding of the mechanism that is producing this multidecadal SST variability. Analysis of the model variability shows that the mechanism involves atmosphere–ocean and tropical–midlatitude interactions, with a crucial element being wind-forced ocean Rossby waves near 20°N and 25°S in the Pacific whose transit times set the decadal time scale. At the western boundary, the Rossby waves reflect into the equatorial Pacific to affect thermocline depth. The resulting feedbacks, involving surface temperature, winds, and the strength of the subtropical cells, produce SST anomalies and associated precipitation and convective heating anomalies. These anomalies are associated with atmospheric Rossby waves and resulting anomalous atmospheric circulation patterns in the midlatitude North and South Pacific. Consequent surface wind stress anomalies extend equatorward into the Tropics and help force ocean Rossby waves near 20°N and 25°S, and so on. Though there are some common elements with various ENSO processes, this decadal mechanism is physically distinct mainly because the surface wind stress anomalies near 20°N and 25°S supplement the wave reflections at the eastern boundary to force the ocean Rossby waves that provide the decadal time scale. These wind anomalies are closely tied to the anomalous midlatitude atmospheric circulation that is a product of teleconnections from the multidecadal SST and tropical convective heating anomalies, themselves linked to precipitation anomalies in the southwestern United States and south Asia associated with megadroughts.
Ice Age Winds: An Aquaplanet Model
Authors: Williams Gareth P. , Bryan Kirk 
Published: May 2006

Abstract
Factors controlling the position and strength of the surface winds during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) are examined using a global, multilevel, moist, atmospheric model. The idealized aquaplanet model is bounded below by a prescribed axisymmetric temperature distribution that corresponds to an ocean-covered surface. Various forms of this distribution are used to examine the influence of changes in the surface cooling and baroclinicity rates. The model omits seasonal variations.
Increasing the cooling lowers the tropopause and greatly reduces the moist convection in the Tropics, thereby causing a weakening and equatorward contraction of the Hadley cell. Such a cooling also weakens the surface westerlies and shifts the peak westerly stress equatorward. An extra surface baroclinicity in midlatitudes—implicitly associated with an increase in the polar sea ice—also shifts the peak westerly stress equatorward, but strengthens the surface westerlies.
Thus, calculations with combined surface cooling and baroclinicity increases, representative of the Last Glacial Maximum, reveal an absence of change in the amplitude of the peak westerly stress but exhibit a substantial equatorward shift in its position, 7° for a 3-K cooling and 11° for a 6-K cooling. The easterlies, however, always increase in strength when the surface westerlies move equatorward.
The application of these results to the LGM must take into account the model’s assumption of symmetry between the two hemispheres. Any changes in the climate’s hemispheric asymmetry could also cause comparable latitudinal shifts in the westerlies, probably of opposite sign in the two hemispheres. Published coupled-model simulations for the LGM give an equatorward shift for the peak westerlies in the Northern Hemisphere but give contradictory results for the Southern Hemisphere.
Toward a Seasonally Ice-Covered Arctic Ocean: Scenarios from the IPCC AR4 Model Simulations
Authors: Zhang Xiangdong , Walsh John E. 
Published: May 2006

Abstract
The sea ice simulations by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC AR4) models for the climate of the twentieth century and for global warming scenarios have been synthesized. A large number of model simulations realistically captured the climatological annual mean, seasonal cycle, and temporal trends of sea ice area over the Northern Hemisphere during 1979–99, although there is considerable scatter among the models. In particular, multimodel ensemble means show promising estimates very close to observations for the late twentieth century. Model projections for the twenty-first century demonstrate the largest sea ice area decreases generally in the Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) A1B and A2 scenarios compared with the B1 scenario, indicating large multimodel ensemble mean reductions of −3.54 ± 1.66 × 105 km2 decade−1 in A1B, −4.08 ± 1.33 × 105 km2 decade−1 in A2, and −2.22 ± 1.11 × 105 km2 decade−1 in B1. The corresponding percentage reductions are 31.1%, 33.4%, and 21.6% in the last 20 yr of the twenty-first century, relative to 1979–99. Furthermore, multiyear ice coverage decreases rapidly at rates of −3.86 ± 2.07 × 105 km2 decade−1 in A1B, −4.94 ± 1.91 × 105 km2 decade−1 in A2, and −2.67 ± 1.7107 × 105 km2 decade−1 in B1, making major contributions to the total ice reductions. In contrast, seasonal (first year) ice area increases by 1.10 ± 2.46 × 105 km2 decade−1, 1.99 ± 1.47 × 105 km2 decade−1, and 1.05 ± 1.9247 × 105 km2 decade−1 in the same scenarios, leading to decreases of 59.7%, 65.0%, and 45.8% of the multiyear ice area, and increases of 14.1%, 27.8%, and 11.2% of the seasonal ice area in the last 20 yr of this century. Statistical analysis shows that many of the models are consistent in the sea ice change projections among all scenarios. The results include an evaluation of the 99% confidence interval of the model-derived change of sea ice coverage, giving a quantification of uncertainties in estimating sea ice changes based on the participating models. Hence, the seasonal cycle of sea ice area is amplified and an increased large portion of seasonally ice-covered Arctic Ocean is expected at the end of the twenty-first century. The very different changes of multiyear and seasonal ice may have significant implications for the polar energy and hydrological budgets and pathways.
High grade squamous intraepithelial lesion in inmates from Ohio : Cervical screening and biopsy follow-up
Authors: Proca Daniela M , Rofagha Soraya , Keyhani-Rofagha Sedigheh 
Published: May 2006

Background:
Cervical carcinoma remains the second leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide and sexual behavior is regarded as the main contributing factor. We studied cervical cytology screening with surgical biopsy follow-up in women prisoners and compared the findings to those in the general population.

Methods:
We reviewed 1024 conventional cervical smears, 73 cervical biopsies and 2 loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) specimens referred to us from the Correctional Center in Columbus, Ohio during a 12-month period. The results were compared to 40,993 Pap smears from the general population for the same 12-month period.

Results:
High grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HGSIL) was diagnosed in 1.3% of the cervical smears from the inmate population versus 0.6% in the general population (p < 0.01). The unsatisfactory rate was 1.6% compared to 0.3% in the general population (p < 0.01). Among the study population, follow-up tissue diagnosis was obtained in 24.3% of the abnormal cytology results (ASCUS, LGSIL, and HGSIL). Of the HGSIL Pap smears, 61.5% had a subsequent tissue diagnosis. Thirty-nine biopsies (52% of the all inmate biopsies and LEEP) showed CIN II/III (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia II/III). Eight of these thirty-nine follow-up biopsies diagnosed as CIN II/III had a previous cervical cytology diagnosis of ASCUS. The average age for HGSIL was 30.5 years (S.D. = 5.7) and for low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LGSIL) was 27.2 years (S.D. = 6.1).

Conclusion:
A significantly higher prevalence of HGSIL cervical cytology and unsatisfactory smears was encountered in female inmates, with tissue follow-up performed in less than two thirds of the patients with HGSIL. These results are in keeping with data available in the literature suggesting that the inmate population is high-risk and may be subject to less screening and tissue follow-up than the general population. Clinicians should proceed with urgency to improve screening and follow-up with treatment. The inmate population should be targeted for HPV vaccination promptly after FDA approval.
All-trans retinoic acid-induced expression of bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein (BPI) in human myeloid cells correlates to binding of C/EBPβ and C/EBPε to the BPI promoter
Authors: Lennartsson Andreas , Vidovic Karina , Pass Malene Bjerregaard , Cowland Jack B , Gullberg Urban 
Published: May 2006

Abstract
Bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein (BPI) neutralizes the proinflammatory effects of lipopolysaccharide and is of potential clinical use in the treatment of fulminant Gram-negative infections. BPI is a cationic protein with antibacterial activity stored in azurophil (primary) granules of neutrophil granulocytes. However, the absence of BPI in patients with specific granule deficiency indicates a transcriptional control of BPI, which is distinct from that of other azurophil granule proteins. Accordingly, we demonstrate in vivo that the BPI mRNA level peaks, together with mRNA for specific granule proteins, during the myelocytic and metamyelocytic stage of granulocytic maturation. The human promyelocytic cell line NB4 expresses several azurophil granule proteins, but expression of BPI is undetectable. We show that treatment of NB4 cells with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) induces BPI expression at mRNA and at protein level. The induction is dependent on de novo protein synthesis, as judged by sensitivity to cycloheximide. Previous investigations have indicated a potential role of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP) transcription factors in the regulation of BPI expression. Here, we show that induction of NB4 cells with ATRA correlates to direct binding of C/EBPβ and C/EBPε to the proximal BPI promoter, as determined by electrophoretic mobility shift analysis and chromatin immunoprecipitation. The dependency on C/EBPβ and C/EBPε provides an explanation for delayed BPI mRNA expression, as compared with mRNA of other azurophil granule proteins.
Exploratory study of factors influencing practice of pharmacists in Australia and Thailand with respect to dietary supplements and complementary medicines
Authors: Kanjanarach Tipaporn , Krass Ines , Cumming Robert G 
Published: May 2006

Abstract

Objective
To explore opinions and practices of pharmacists in Australia and Thailand in relation to dietary supplements and complementary medicines (DS/CM)

Method
Data were collected from individual in-depth interviews of 10 pharmacists from the Sydney metropolitan area, Australia, and 10 pharmacists from the north-eastern region of Thailand, using semi-structured interview protocol to guide the interview.

Key findings
Australian respondents evaluated the necessity and safety of use of DS/CM in the same way as for conventional medicines. Thai respondents performed a quick assessment to ensure that customers were in a normal-health condition before selling them DS/CM products. The provision of information about DS/CM products and their efficacy, and advice on the maintenance of healthy lifestyles were still inadequate in both studied groups. When assisting customers in selecting products, Australian respondents would select a product about which they had knowledge, while Thai respondents would suggest brands that were relatively cheap but yielded a higher profit margin. Criteria used by Australian respondents to select DS/CM products to sell in pharmacies were clinical evidence and the credibility of companies and distributors, while Thai respondents appeared to be influenced by companies' credibility, customers' income, products' appearance and companies' policies about unsold products.

Conclusion
It was found that neither Australian nor Thai respondents were proactive in providing professional services to support the appropriate use of DS/CM. Among Australian respondents, the decision to sell or recommend DS/CM was often motivated by customers' desire and customers' health conditions. Among Thai respondents the action taken was often motivated by customers' request and the profit to be made from the sale.