bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Invariant-based reasoning about parameterized security protocols
Authors: Mooij Arjan J. 
Published: February 2009

Abstract
We explore the applicability of the programming method of Feijen and van Gasteren to the domain of security protocols. This method addresses the derivation of concurrent programs from a formal specification, and it is based on common notions like invariants and pre- and post-conditions. We show that fundamental security concepts like secrecy and authentication can nicely be specified in this way. Using some small extensions, the style of formal reasoning from this method can be applied to the security domain. To demonstrate our approach, we discuss an authentication protocol and a public-key distribution protocol, and we deal with their composition. By focussing on a general setting where agents run the protocols multiple times, the nonce concept turns out to pop-up naturally. Although this work does not contain any new protocols, it does offer a new view on reasoning about security protocols.
Courvoisier’s Gallbladder: Law or Sign?
Authors: Fitzgerald J. Edward F. , White Matthew J. , Lobo Dileep N. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractBackgroundVariously described as Courvoisier’s law, sign, or even gallbladder, this eponymous “law” has been taught to medical students since the publication of Courvoisier’s treatise in 1890.MethodsWe reviewed Courvoisier’s original “law,” the modern misconceptions surrounding it, and the contemporary evidence supporting and explaining his observations.ResultsCourvoisier never stated a “law” in the context of a jaundiced patient with a palpable gallbladder. He described 187 cases of common bile duct obstruction, observing that gallbladder dilatation seldom occurred with stone obstruction of the bile duct. The classic explanation for Courvoisier’s finding is based on the underlying pathologic process. With the presence of gallstones come repeated episodes of infection and subsequent fibrosis of the gallbladder. In the event that a gallstone causes the obstruction, the gallbladder is shrunken owing to fibrosis and is unlikely to be distensible and, hence, palpable. With other causes of obstruction, the gallbladder distends as a result of the back‐pressure from obstructed bile flow. However, recent experiments show that gallbladders are equally distensible in vitro, irrespective of the pathology, suggesting that chronicity of the obstruction is the key. Chronically elevated intraductal pressures are more likely to develop with malignant obstruction owing to the progressive nature of the disease. Gallstones cause obstruction in an intermittent fashion, which is generally not consistent enough to produce such a chronic rise in pressure.ConclusionWe hope that reminding clinicians of Courvoisier’s actual observations will reestablish the usefulness of this clinical sign in the way he intended.
Bloodspot acylcarnitine and amino acid analysis in cord blood samples: efficacy and reference data from a large cohort study
Authors: Walter J. H. , Patterson A. , Till J. , Besley G. T. N. , Fleming G. , Henderson M. J. 
Published: February 2009

SummaryBackground:In order to test the feasibility of cord blood screening for inherited metabolic disease, a two‐year cohort study of births in six obstetric units from five towns in the north of England was undertaken. These towns have a high prevalence of consanguineous marriages, largely among the immigrant Asian community. The purpose of the study was to determine whether early detection of metabolic disease was possible and whether early intervention would improve prognosis.Methods:Following parental consent, cord blood samples were collected at birth and analysed for acylcarnitine and amino acid profiles by tandem mass spectrometry in one of two laboratories. One laboratory used butylated derivatives, the other used underivatized samples. The same laboratories performed routine blood spot neonatal screening at 5–7 days of age on these babies. Patients with positive results were investigated and treated by a metabolic paediatrician as soon as possible.Results:24 983 births were examined. 12 952 samples were analysed as butyl derivatives, 12 031 samples were analysed underivatized. The following disorders were detected: medium‐chain acyl‐CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency (1 case), 3‐methylcrotonyl‐CoA carboxylase (MCC) deficiency (2 cases), maternal carnitine transporter defect (2 cases), maternal MCC (1 case). The following disorders were diagnosed subsequently but were not detected by the cord blood screening: phenylketonuria (PKU) (1 case), maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) (2 cases), argininosuccinic aciduria (1 case), methylmalonic acidaemia (MMA) (1 case), glutaric aciduria type 2 (1 case), MCAD deficiency (2 cases), 3‐hydroxy‐3‐methylglutaryl‐CoA lyase deficiency (1 case). Comprehensive reference data for all analytes by both methods were obtained.Conclusions:Cord blood testing is of limited value in detecting inherited metabolic disease. The metabolites associated with most disorders examined were not elevated in cord blood. Some maternal disorders, carnitine transporter defect and 3‐methlycrotonyl‐CoA carboxylase deficiency, are detected. These remain of uncertain clinical significance. Comprehensive reference data have been obtained that will facilitate future interpretation of studies in cord blood.
Different requirements for physical dormancy release in two populations of Sophora alopecuroides relation to burial depth
Authors: Hu Xiao Wen , Wu Yan Pei , Wang Yan Rong 
Published: February 2009

AbstractMost species of Fabaceae produce seeds with physical dormancy which was broken by some environmental factors in the field, yet for the mechanism of physical dormancy release in the natural condition is still poorly understood. In present study, seeds of Sophora alopecuroides from two populations were placed on the soil surface or buried at depths of 2 and 7 cm in the field and were exhumed at time intervals to assess the changes of dormancy. Also, microenvironments were simulated in the laboratory to determine the possible components (temperature, temperature fluctuation, and moisture) involved in physical dormancy release. The laboratory work indicated that wet heat is an important dormancy release mechanism for both populations; and dry heat for one of them, but showed no effects on the other one. Consistent with that, burial experiment showed seeds of two populations had two contrasting‐dormancy release patterns in the field. Most seeds of the dry heat sensitive population released dormancy but the other one remained dormant when seeds placed on the soil surface for 11 months (where seeds were exposed to dry heat but not wet heat). The difference of physical dormancy release pattern response to burial depth and simulated condition may attribute to seed coat color and hilum thickness which showed significantly different between two populations. This conclusion may improve understanding of physical dormancy release mechanism among populations and have a practical use for grassland management and weed control.
Protective Effects of EPA and Deleterious Effects of DHA on eNOS Activity in Ea hy 926 Cultured with Lysophosphatidylcholine
Authors: Tardivel Sylviane , Gousset‐Dupont Aurélie , Robert Véronique , Pourci Marie‐Luce , Grynberg Alain , Lacour Bernard 
Published: February 2009

AbstractOxidized low density lipoprotein (Ox‐LDL) is a well‐established risk factor in atherosclerosis and lysophosphatidylcholine (LysoPtdCho) is considered to be one of the major atherogenic component of Ox‐LDL. The purpose of this work was to investigate the effects of two membrane n‐3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n‐3 PUFAs), EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) compared to n‐6 PUFA, ARA (arachidonic acid), on the activation of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) by histamine in Ea hy 926 endothelial cells incubated during 24 h in the presence or the absence of LysoPtdCho. DHA (50 μM) produced a ROS induction in cells and aggravated the LysoPtdCho‐induced oxidative stress. It did not modify the basal eNOS activity but impaired the stimulation of eNOS induced by histamine and was unable to correct the deleterious effect of LysoPtdCho on histamine‐stimulated eNOS activity or phosphorylation of Ser 1177. In contrast, EPA (90 μM) did not modify the ROS level produced in the presence or absence of LysoPtdCho or basal eNOS activity and the stimulating effect of histamine on eNOS. However, it diminished the deleterious effect of LysoPtdCho as well as on the histamine‐stimulated eNOS activity on the phosphorylation on Ser 1177 of eNOS. The beneficial effect of EPA but not DHA on endothelial eNOS activity in Ea hy 926 could be also partially due to a slight decrease in membrane DHA content in EPA‐treated cells. Consequently, the equilibrium between NO generated by eNOS and ROS due to oxidative stress could explain, in part, the beneficial effect of EPA on the development of cardiovascular diseases. By contrast ARA an n‐6 PUFA was devoid of any effect on ROS generation or eNOS activity in the basal state or after histamine‐induced stimulation. In vivo experiments should be undertaken to confirm these results.
A spectral sequence for theK-theory of tiling spaces
Authors: SAVINIEN JEAN , BELLISSARD JEAN 
Published: February 2009

AbstractLet 𝒯 be an aperiodic and repetitive tiling of ℝdwith finite local complexity. We present a spectral sequence that converges to theK-theory of 𝒯 with page-2 given by a new cohomology that will be called PV in reference to the Pimsner–Voiculescu exact sequence. It is a generalization of the Serre spectral sequence. The PV cohomology of 𝒯 generalizes the cohomology of the base space of a fibration with local coefficients in theK-theory of its fiber. We prove that it is isomorphic to the Čech cohomology of the hull of 𝒯 (a compactification of the family of its translates).
On the critical dimensions of product odometers
Authors: DOOLEY ANTHONY H. , MORTISS GENEVIEVE 
Published: February 2009

AbstractMortiss introduced the notion of critical dimension of a non-singular action, a measure of the order of growth of sums of Radon derivatives. The critical dimension was shown to be an invariant of metric isomorphism; this invariant was calculated for two-point product odometers and shown to coincide, in certain cases, with the average coordinate entropy. In this paper we extend the theory to apply to all product odometers, introduce upper and lower critical dimensions, and prove a Katok-type covering lemma.
Multifractal analysis for disintegrations of Gibbs measures and conditional Birkhoff averages
Authors: FENG DE-JUN , SHU LIN 
Published: February 2009

AbstractThe paper is devoted to the study of the multifractal structure of disintegrations of Gibbs measures and conditional (random) Birkhoff averages. Our approach is based on the relativized thermodynamic formalism, convex analysis and, especially, the delicate constructions of Moran-like subsets of level sets.
Subdiffusive behavior generated by irrational rotations
Authors: HUVENEERS F. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractWe study asymptotic distributions of the sums yn(x)=∑ k=0n−1ψ(x+kα) with respect to the Lebesgue measure, where α∈ℝ−ℚ and where ψ is the 1-periodic function of bounded variation such that ψ(x)=1 if x∈[0,1/2[ and ψ(x)=−1 if x∈[1/2,1[. For every α∈ℝ−ℚ, we find a sequence (nj)j⊂ℕ such that $y_{n_j}/\sqrt j$ is asymptotically normally distributed. For n≥1, let zn∈(ym)m≤n be such that ‖zn‖L2=max m≤n‖ym‖L2. If α is of constant type, we show that zn/‖zn‖L2 is also asymptotically normally distributed. We give a heuristic link with the theory of expanding maps of the interval.
Embedding diffeomorphisms in flows in Banach spaces
Authors: ZHANG XIANG 
Published: February 2009

AbstractThis paper concerns the problem of embedding, in the flow of an autonomous vector field, a local diffeomorphism near a hyperbolic fixed point in a Banach space. To solve the problem, we first extend Floquet theory to Banach spaces, and then prove that two C∞ hyperbolic diffeomorphisms are formally equivalent if and only if they are C∞-equivalent. The latter result is a version, in the Banach space context, of a classical theorem by Chen.
Preimage pressure for random transformations
Authors: ZHU YUJUN , LI ZHIMING , LI XIAOHONG 
Published: February 2009

AbstractIn this paper, preimage pressure, which is based on the preimage structure of the system, is defined and studied for random transformations. We obtain analogs of many known results of preimage entropy and preimage pressure for deterministic cases in Cheng and Newhouse [Pre-image entropy. Ergod. Th. & Dynam. Sys.25 (2005), 1091–1113] and Zeng et al [Pre-image pressure and invariant measures. Ergod. Th. & Dynam. Sys.27 (2007), 1037–1052]. In particular, a variational principle is given and some applications of preimage pressure, such as the investigation of the invariant measures and the equilibrium states, are obtained.
Deformation of Brody curves and mean dimension
Authors: TSUKAMOTO MASAKI 
Published: February 2009

AbstractThe main purpose of this paper is to show that ideas of deformation theory can be applied to ‘infinite-dimensional geometry’. We develop the deformation theory of Brody curves. A Brody curve is a kind of holomorphic map from the complex plane to the projective space. Since the complex plane is not compact, the parameter space of the deformation can be infinite-dimensional. As an application we prove a lower bound on the mean dimension of the space of Brody curves.
On numbers having finite beta-expansions
Authors: ZAÏMI TOUFIK 
Published: February 2009

AbstractLet β be a real number greater than one, and let ℤβ be the set of real numbers which have a zero fractional part when expanded in base β. We prove that β is a Pisot number when the set ℕβ−ℕβ−ℕβ is discrete, where ℕβ=ℤβ∩[0,∞[. We also give partial answers to some related open problems, and in particular, we show that β is a Pisot number when a sum ℤβ+⋯+ℤβ is a Meyer set.
Transitivity of surface dynamics lifted to Abelian covers
Authors: BOYLAND PHILIP 
Published: February 2009

AbstractA homeomorphismfof a manifoldMis calledH1-transitive if there is a transitive lift of an iterate offto the universal Abelian cover$\tilde {M}$. Roughly speaking, this means thatfhas orbits which repeatedly and densely explore all elements ofH1(M). For a rel pseudo-Anosov map ϕ of a compact surfaceMwe show that the following are equivalent: (a) ϕ isH1-transitive, (b) the action of ϕ onH1(M) has spectral radius one and (c) the lifts of the invariant foliations of ϕ to$\tilde {M}$have dense leaves. The proof relies on a characterization of transitivity for twisted ℤd-extensions of a transitive subshift of finite type.
Non-hyperbolic ergodic measures for non-hyperbolic homoclinic classes
Authors: DÍAZ LORENZO J. , GORODETSKI ANTON 
Published: February 2009

AbstractWe prove that there is a residual subset 𝒮 in Diff1(M) such that, for everyf∈𝒮, any homoclinic class offcontaining saddles of different indices (dimension of the unstable bundle) contains also an uncountable support of an invariant ergodic non-hyperbolic (one of the Lyapunov exponents is equal to zero) measure off.
A point is normal for almost all mapsβx+αmod 1 or generalizedβ-transformations
Authors: FALLER B. , PFISTER C.-E. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractWe consider the mapTα,β(x):=βx+α mod 1, which admits a unique probability measureμα,βof maximal entropy. Forx∈[0,1], we show that the orbit ofxisμα,β-normal for almost all (α,β)∈[0,1)×(1,∞) (with respect to Lebesgue measure). Nevertheless, we construct analytic curves in [0,1)×(1,∞) along which the orbit ofx=0 isμα,β-normal at no more than one point. These curves are disjoint and fill the set [0,1)×(1,∞). We also study the generalizedβ-transformations (in particular, the tent map). We show that the critical orbitx=1 is normal with respect to the measure of maximal entropy for almost allβ.
Slime cells on the surface ofEragrostisseeds maintain a level of moisture around the grain to enhance germination
Authors: Kreitschitz Agnieszka , Tadele Zerihun , Gola Edyta M. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractEragrostisis a cosmopolitan genus of the familyPoaceae. Several wild species, includingE. pilosa(L.) Beauv., are harvested for food, but the only cultivated crop-species is tef [E. tef(Zucc.) Trotter]. Despite its importance as a staple food and its plasticity to diverse environmental conditions, little is known about the structural and physiological strategies that adapt tef seeds to endure diverse and variable moisture regimes. Here, we report the presence of slime cells, a type of modified epidermal cell, covering the fruit of tef and its wild relative,E. pilosa. The slime produced byEragrostisbelongs to the ‘true’ slime type, since it is exclusively composed of pectins. Pectin forms uniform layers on the cell wall inner surface, which are confined by a thin cellulose layer to prevent release into the cell lumen. In the presence of water, pectins quickly hydrate, causing swelling of the slime cells. This is followed by their detachment, which may be controlled by a thin cuticle layer on the fruit surface. The ability of slime to absorb and maintain moisture around the grain is thought to be an adaptive feature forEragrostisgrowing in dry habitats. This retention of water by slime may create conditions that are suitable for rapid germination.
Sensitivity cycling and its ecological role in seeds with physical dormancy
Authors: Jayasuriya K.M.G. Gehan , Baskin Jerry M. , Baskin Carol C. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractCycling of physically dormant (PY) seeds between states insensitive and sensitive to dormancy-breaking factors in the environment has recently been demonstrated inFabaceaeandConvolvulaceae, and it may be a common phenomenon in seeds with water-impermeable seed coats. In contrast to seeds of many species with physiological dormancy (PD), those with PY cannot cycle between dormancy and non-dormancy (ND). In this paper, we evaluate the role of sensitivity cycling in controlling the timing of germination of seeds with PY in nature, and show that sensitivity cycling in seeds with PY serves the same ecological role as dormancy cycling in seeds with PD. Thus, sensitivity cycling in seeds with PY ensures that germination in nature occurs only at (a) time(s) of the year when environmental conditions for growth are, and are likely to remain, suitable long enough for the plant to complete its life cycle or to form a perennating structure. Further, we describe the experimental procedures necessary to determine whether sensitivity cycling is occurring, and discuss briefly the possible relevance of sensitivity cycling to dormancy classification.
Smoke-water-induced changes of expression pattern in Grand Rapids lettuce achenes
Authors: Soós Vilmos , Juhász Angela , Light Marnie E. , Van Staden Johannes , Balázs Ervin 
Published: February 2009

AbstractAerosol smoke and smoke-water can break dormancy and promote seed germination of many plant species. In this study we investigated changes in gene expression after imbibition of light-sensitiveLactuca sativaL. cv. ‘Grand Rapids’ achenes with dilute smoke-water compared to water control samples kept in the dark or continuous light, using the fluorescent differential display technique. Although no difference was detected in the smoke-water versus water control samples germinated in light, smoke-water treatment resulted in the differential display of several expressed sequence tags (ESTs) when compared to water control samples kept in the dark. The most pronounced fragments isolated correspond to known genes related to germination, with functions in cell wall expansion, regulation of translation, the cell division cycle, carbohydrate metabolism and abscisic acid (ABA) regulation. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) validation revealed that the transcript abundance of the genes,HVA22, short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase and late embryogenesis abundant protein, are upregulated after smoke treatment when compared to control achenes kept in the light. The results indicate that smoke has a dual effect. On the one hand, the smoke can induce genes that may be linked to ABA action, whereas, on the other hand, it elicits a faster germination rate by inducing a similar pattern in gene expression as light treatment. Smoke effects could be manifested mainly through the induction of the cell division cycle, cell wall extension and storage mobilization.
Effect of medium conditioned with rat hepatoma BRL cells on ‘2-cell block’ of random-bred mouse embryos culturedin vitro
Authors: Kobayashi Masayuki , Terawaki Yoshinori , Saito Koichi , Kasuga Kano , Kojima Ikuo 
Published: February 2009

SummaryThe phenomenon of developmental arrest at the 2-cell stage of zygotes obtained from certain mouse strains duringin vitroculture is known as the 2-cell block. The effect of conditioned medium (CM) with rat hepatoma BRL cells on the 2-cell block of CD-1 mouse zygotes was investigated in comparison with that of CM with rat hepatoma Reuber H-35 cells. In control medium with EDTA, 75.4% of 2-cell embryos developed to the 4- to 8-cell stages. In the same conditions, the BRLMr<10000 fraction inhibited the development of 2-cell embryos to the 4- to 8-cell stages (57.7%), although the inhibition by this fraction was weaker than by the ReuberMr<10000 fraction (19.8%). As a result of reversed-phase column chromatography, a 2-cell stage specific inhibitor of the cleavage of mouse embryos (Fr.B-25), which separated into theMr<10000 fraction of the Reuber CM, was detected at a low level in the BRLMr<10000 fraction. On the other hand, theMr>10000 fraction of BRL CM accelerated the development of the embryos (90.3%). This beneficial effect was also evident even in the absence of EDTA. RT-PCR analysis revealed that mRNAs encoding the β-A or β-B subunit of activins (Mr~29000), which are well characterized cytokines that act as releasers of the 2-cell block, were expressed in BRL cells. These results indicate that BRL cells synthesize Fr.B-25 at low levels, and that activins contained in the BRL CM probably contributed to overcoming the 2-cell block of CD-1 zygotes culturedin vitro.
A tractable hybrid DDN–POMDP approach to affective dialogue modeling for probabilistic frame-based dialogue systems
Authors: BUI TRUNG H. , POEL MANNES , NIJHOLT ANTON , ZWIERS JOB 
Published: February 2009

AbstractWe propose a novel approach to developing a tractable affective dialogue model for probabilistic frame-based dialogue systems. The affective dialogue model, based on Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP) and Dynamic Decision Network (DDN) techniques, is composed of two main parts: the slot-level dialogue manager and the global dialogue manager. It has two new features: (1) being able to deal with a large number of slots and (2) being able to take into account some aspects of the user's affective state in deriving the adaptive dialogue strategies. Our implemented prototype dialogue manager can handle hundreds of slots, where each individual slot might have hundreds of values. Our approach is illustrated through a route navigation example in the crisis management domain. We conducted various experiments to evaluate our approach and to compare it with approximate POMDP techniques and handcrafted policies. The experimental results showed that the DDN–POMDP policy outperforms three handcrafted policies when the user's action error is induced by stress as well as when the observation error increases. Further, performance of the one-step look-ahead DDN–POMDP policy after optimizing its internal reward is close to state-of-the-art approximate POMDP counterparts.
HUMANITARIAN LAW AND LITERATURE: FROM UTOPIA TO SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE
Authors: Bring Ove 
Published: February 2009

AbstractThe article identifies humanitarian law related thought in some works of world literature. A starting point is Thomas More'sUtopia(1516). Since Judge T. Meron has dealt extensively with Shakespeare from a similar perspective, the works referred to in the article (exceptUtopia) are all post-Shakespearean. The exposé ends with Kurt Vonnegut'sSlaughterhouse Five(1969) and some dry comments on the bombing of Dresden in that book.