bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Microwave and thermal balloon ablation for heavy menstrual bleeding: a systematic review
Authors: Garside Ruth , Stein Ken , Wyatt Katrina , Round Ali 
Published: December 2004

Objective  To compare the effectiveness of two second generation endometrial ablation techniques (microwave and thermal balloon endometrial ablation) with first generation techniques of endometrial ablation to treat heavy menstrual bleeding in women.Search strategy  We searched the Cochrane Library (issue 3, 2002), the National Research Register, MEDLINE (1966 to August 2002), Embase (1980 to August 2002) and Web of Science Proceedings (all years). We also searched reference lists and contacted experts and manufacturers in the field.Selection criteria  Randomised controlled trials and controlled trials of microwave endometrial ablation and thermal balloon endometrial ablation versus transcervical resection and rollerball ablation, alone or in combination, to treat heavy menstrual bleeding were included.Data collection and analysis  Two reviewers independently selected studies for inclusion and extracted data. As there was considerable clinical and methodological heterogeneity among the studies, meta‐analysis was not undertaken and results are presented descriptively.Results  Two randomised controlled trials of microwave endometrial ablation and eight trials (six randomised controlled trials) of thermal balloon endometrial ablation were included in the review. No significant differences were found between first and second generation techniques in terms of amenorrhoea, bleeding patterns, pre‐menstrual symptoms, patient satisfaction or quality of life. Microwave endometrial ablation and thermal balloon endometrial ablation had significantly shorter operating and theatre times than first generation techniques. Adverse effects were few with all techniques, but there were fewer peri‐operative adverse effects with second generation techniques.Conclusion  Microwave endometrial ablation and thermal balloon endometrial ablation are alternatives to first generation techniques for treating heavy menstrual bleeding. No head‐to‐head trials of microwave endometrial ablation and thermal balloon endometrial ablation have been undertaken and there is not yet enough evidence of differences in clinical effectiveness between these two techniques.
How useful are ‘millipede’ and other similar porphyroblast microstructures for determining synmetamorphic deformation histories?
Authors: JOHNSON S. E. , BELL T. H. 
Published: December 2004

ABSTRACT Oppositely concave microfolds (OCMs) in and adjacent to porphyroblasts can be classified into five nongenetic types. Type 1 OCMs are found in sections through porphyroblasts with spiral‐shaped inclusion trails cut parallel to the spiral axes, and commonly show closed foliation loops. Type 2 OCMs, commonly referred to as ‘millipede’ microstructure, are highly symmetrical, the foliation folded into OCMs being approximately perpendicular to the overprinting foliation. Type 3 OCMs are similar to Type 2, but are asymmetrical, the foliation folded into OCMs being variably oblique to the overprinting foliation. Type 4 OCMs are highly asymmetrical, only one foliation is present, and this foliation is parallel to the local shear plane. Type 5 OCMs result from porphyroblast growth over a microfold interference pattern.Types 1 and 2 are commonly interpreted as indicating highly noncoaxial and highly coaxial bulk deformation paths, respectively, during porphyroblast growth. However, theoretically they can form by any deformation path intermediate between bulk coaxial shortening and bulk simple shearing. Given particular initial foliation orientation and timing of porphyroblast growth, Type 3 OCMs can also form during these intermediate deformation paths, and are commonly found in the same rocks as Type 2 OCMs. Type 4 OCMs may indicate highly noncoaxial deformation during porphyroblast growth, but may be difficult to distinguish from Type 3 OCMs. Thus, Types 1–3 (and possibly 4) reflect the finite strain state, giving no information about the rotational component of the deformation(s) responsible for their formation. Furthermore, there is a lack of unequivocal independent evidence for the degree of noncoaxiality of deformation (s) during the growth of porphyroblasts containing OCMs. Type 2 OCMs that occur independently of porphyroblasts or other rigid objects might indicate highly coaxial bulk shortening, but there is a lack of supporting physical or computer modelling.It is possible that microstructures in the matrix around OCMs formed during highly noncoaxial and highly coaxial deformation histories might have specific characteristics that allow them to be distinguished from one another. However, determining degrees of noncoaxiality from rock fabrics is a major, longstanding problem in structural geology.
Petrology of phlogopite‐sapphirine‐bearing Al‐Mg granulites from Ihouhaouene, In Ouzzal, Hoggar, Algeria: an example of phlogopite stability at high temperature
Authors: MOURI H. , GUIRAUD M. , HENSEN B. J. 
Published: December 2004

ABSTRACTAl‐Mg granulites, with cordierite, garnet, sapphirine, orthopyroxene, sillimanite, spinel, phlogopite, K‐feldspar, plagioclase and variable quartz from Ihouhaouene (In Ouzzal, Algeria), display a range of decompression textures involving the breakdown of orthopyroxene and sillimanite, and of garnet. The succession of parageneses suggests that the P–T–t evolution corresponds to decompression with cooling from peak conditions of about 950°C and 10 kbar. This decompression path is obtained from the paragenetic analysis in the FMAS system. However, according to current KFMASH grids, this P–T–t evolution should take place outside the stability field of phlogopite+quartz; yet this assemblage is probably stable during most of the P‐T evolution, notably during peak metamorphism. This discrepancy is interpreted as the effect of the high content of F in phlogopite which should shift its stability limit towards higher temperature. The consequences of this shift on the phase relationships in the KFeMASH system are investigated and it is concluded that a topological inversion could exist in the F‐bearing system.
An example of ultrahigh‐temperature metamorphism: orthopyroxene–sillimanite–garnet, sapphirine–quartz and spinel–quartz parageneses in Al–Mg granulites from In Hihaou, In Ouzzal, Hoggar
Authors: OUZEGANE K. , BOUMAZA S. 
Published: December 2004

ABSTRACTQuartz Al–Mg granulites exposed at In Hihaou, In Ouzzal (NW Hoggar), preserve an unusual high‐grade mineral association stable at temperatures up to 1050°C, involving the parageneses orthopyroxene–sillimanite–garnet–quartz, sapphirine–quartz and spinel–quartz. The phase relationships within the FMAS system show that a continuum exists between the earlier prograde reaction textures and those of the later decompressive event. The following mineral reactions involving sillimanite are deduced: (1) Grt+Qtz→Opx+Sil, (2) Opx+Sil→Grt+Spr+Qtz, (3) Grt+Sil+Qtz→Crd, (4) Grt+Sil→Crd+Spr, (5) Grt+Sil+Spr→Crd+Spl, (6) Grt+Sil→Crd+Spl, (7) Grt+Crd+Sil→Spl+Qtz and (8) Grt+Sil→Spl+Qtz. Minerals in quartz Al–Mg granulites display compositional variations consistent with the observed reactions. The Mg/(Mg+Fe2+) range of the main minerals is as follows: cordierite (0.81–0.97), sapphirine (0.77–0.88), orthopyroxene (0.65–0.81), garnet (0.33–0.64) and spinel (0.23–0.56). The reaction textures and the evolution of the mineral assemblages in the quartz Al–Mg granulites indicate a clockwiseP–Ttrajectory characterized by peak conditions of at least 10 kbar and 1050°C, followed by decompression from 10 to 6 kbar at a temperature of at least 900°C.
Cleavage of Integrin by μ‐Calpain during Hypoxia in Human Endometrial Cells
Authors: Aoyama Kazufumi , Ozaki Yasuhiko , Nakanishi Tamao , Ogasawara Mayumi S. , Ikuta Katsuo , Aoki Koji , Blomgren Klas , Suzumori Kaoru 
Published: December 2004

Problem:  The distribution and activation of μ‐calpain and possible cleavage of integrin in human endometrial cells under hypoxic condition were investigated.Method of study:  Human endometrial epithelial and stromal cells were subjected to hypoxia, and subsequently used for immunostaining and western blot analysis.Results:  The proform of μ‐calpain was detected in the cytoplasm of normal cells, and displayed a substantial decrease after hypoxia. Conversely, the active form of μ‐calpain was not detected in normal cells, but was abundant after hypoxia. The cytoplasmic domain of integrin β3 was also detected in the cytoplasm of endometrial cells. Western blot analysis confirmed that both the proform of μ‐calpain and the integrin β3 cytoplasmic domain decreased during hypoxia.Conclusions:  μ‐Calpain is activated in human endometrial cells during hypoxia and that subsequent cleavage of the integrin β3 cytoplasmic domain may give some adverse effects to the function of human endometrium.
Ecology of Danger‐dependent Cytokine‐boosted Spontaneous Abortion in the CBA × DBA/2 Mouse Model. I. Synergistic Effect of LPS and (TNF‐α + IFN‐γ) on Pregnancy Loss
Authors: Clark David A. , Manuel Justin , Lee Lydia , Chaouat Gerard , Gorczynski Reginald M. , Levy Gary A. 
Published: December 2004

Problem:  Previous data have shown ‘danger’ signals, such as bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) acting via toll‐like (tlr) receptors are required for early pregnancy failure in several murine abortion models. Indeed, the abortion rate increased in the CBA × DBA/2 model after a gestation day (gd) 7.5 injection of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α + interferon (IFN)‐γ only if the LPS‐tlr signalling pathway was intact. High rates of cytokine‐boosted abortion >80% loss can be achieved in certain animal colonies, that have a high endogenous (spontaneous) rate of resorption (30–50%). A specific role for LPS has been postulated to determine both the endogenous and cytokine‐boosted losses.Methods:  To test the role of LPS in spontaneous and cytokine‐boosted abortions, recombinant TNF‐α + IFN‐γ, and LPS were injected in different doses and sequences intraperitoneally (i.p.) into CBA × DBA/2 mated mice in the Toronto General Research Institute animal facility where the endogenous abortion rate is <30%. The effects of poly IC, a tlr3 agonist that induces IFN‐γ that can reverse LPS‐induced tolerance, and effects of anti‐MD‐1 on TNF‐α induction by LPS, poly IC, CPG, or HSP in vitro were also examined.Results:  A high endogenous rate of loss similar to that seen in Clamart could be achieved by increasing exposure to LPS on the morning after mating (gd 0.5). The magnitude by which the abortion rate could be increased by an i.p. injection of 2000 u TNF‐α + 1000 u IFN‐γ on gd 7.5 was independent of the endogenous rate of loss, and could not be increased by doubling the dose. One microgram of LPS given on day 7.5 achieved a similar rate of loss, and if given with the cytokines, synergistically boosted the rate of loss to near Clamart rates. LPS given 1 day prior to the cytokines abrogated the cytokine effect, whereas LPS given day 0.5 had no significant effect on the response to day 7.5 cytokine injection. Blocking MD‐1 inhibited TNF‐α stimulation by poly IC, LPS, CPG, or HSP in vitro, and reduced abortion rates. Poly IC did not avert LPS‐type tolerance effects in vivo.Conclusions:  High endogenous rates of abortion in the CBA × DBA/2 model may be explained by exposure to LPS at the time of mating. Increased rates of loss triggered by cytokines later in pregnancy may depend on increased absorption of LPS from intestinal flora.
Earth 101
Authors: Gottlieb Roger 
Published: December 2004

AbstractThis paper is an account of a course called Philosophy and the Environment. The course responds to problems common in environmental education: that is, either leaving the audience unmoved, or, struck by the information and the analyses, but without emotional support or positive experiences, full of even more despair, cynicism and numbness than when they began. Many of us in higher education are seeking a different path, believing that it is possible to connect our bodies and our minds, our intellects and our emotions, our analytical intelligence and our spiritual hopes. Philosophy and the Environment attempts to do just this, providing a theoretical account of the crisis with an experience of its meaning.
Why Teach Environmental Ethics? Because We Already Do
Authors: Benton Christine , Benton Raymond 
Published: December 2004

AbstractIn this paper we argue for the importance of the formal teaching of environmental ethics. This is, we argue, both because environmental ethics is needed to respond to the environmental issues generated by the neoliberal movement in politics and economics, and because a form of environmental ethics is implicit, but unexamined, in that which is currently taught. We maintain that students need to become aware of the latent ethical dimension in what they are taught. To help them, we think that they need to understand how models and metaphors structure and impact their worldviews. We describe how a simple in-class exercise encourages students to experience the way metaphors organize feelings, courses of action, and cognitive understandings. This is then intellectualized by way of Clifford Geertz's concept of culture and his model for the analysis of sacred symbols. From there we present a brief interpretation of modern economics as the embodiment of the dominant modern ethos. This leads into a consideration of ecology as a science, and to the environmental ethic embodied in Aldo Leopold's "Land Ethic." We close with a personal experience that highlights how environmental teaching can make students aware of the presence of an implicit, but unexamined, environmental ethic.
Reducing Pessimism's Sway in The Environmental Ethics Classroom
Authors: Sheppard James 
Published: December 2004

AbstractIncreased awareness of the breadth and depth of existing environmental challenges is part of an environmental education. One effect of this increased awareness that can manifest itself in the environmental ethics classroom is pessimism. I outline two varieties of pessimism that have a tendency to hold sway in the environmental ethics classroom: 1) pessimism about the general state of the environment; and, 2) pessimism about being able to do anything about the general state of the environment. After outlining a few of the potential educational and vocational consequences of allowing pessimism to take root, I offer a pedagogical method for reducing the sway of pessimism in the classroom. I argue that William James' and John Dewey's writings on the subject of meliorism offer a framework that, when combined with some of the insights of incrementalism theory in environmental policy, can not only help students to reduce the sway of pessimism in the classroom, but also in their chosen career paths by, among other things, highlighting the "possibility of possibility".
Analytical Damage Zone Size Predictions for Notched Laminated Composites
Authors: Yeh Hsien-Yang , Berryhill R. Kevin , Yeh Hsien-Liang 
Published: December 2004

The purpose of this study was to investigate the significance of damage zone size as a parameter for evaluating the fracture strength of center-cracked laminated composites. Using experimental data for a symmetrical, generally orthotropic graphite-epoxy laminate, the damage zone sizes predicted by the Average Stress Criterion and Point Stress Criterion, as well as the D-Criterion, were compared. Additionally, limited data for the Quadratic Surfaces and Sequential Fiber Failure Criteria were evaluated. Experimental measurements of crack-tip damage zone size were used to establish a physical reference point by which all of the theories were compared. The preliminary results of this study indicate that the characteristic lengths defined by the Quadratic Surfaces and Sequential Fiber Failure Criteria are not representative of the measured damage zone size and need further investigation.
Analysis of Selected Water Absorption Coefficient Measurements
Authors: Bomberg Mark , Pazera Marcin , Plagge Rudolph 
Published: December 2004

For isotropic materials with a significant fraction of micro-pores, the cumulative water intake per unit of inflow surface area typically yields a linear function of the square root of time elapse. The authors postulate that this dependence has a limited range of validity. The validity of this approximation starts from an initial period that is inversely proportional to the rate of water intake and ends much before the material reaches the capillary moisture content. Experimental investigation presented here uses a differential presentation of the cumulative water inflow and clearly indicates that material such as calcium silicate or brick belong to a broad class of materials characterized by a constant water absorption coefficient (A-coefficient). Initial period varies from ½ to 4 minutes. On the other hand, materials with a multiple pore-system such as an Aerated Autoclaved Concrete (AAC) may display a systematically varying A-coefficient. Authors propose a test procedure limited to 1-hour duration that can be used to derive a practical and reproducible value of A-coefficient.
Prediction of Density for Prevention of Settling of Hygroscopic and Nonhygroscopic Loose-fill Insulation in Walls
Authors: Rasmussen Torben Valdbjørn 
Published: December 2004

This paper discusses the prediction of the density necessary for the prevention of the settling of hygroscopic and nonhygroscopic loose-fill insulation in walls, when the criteria for creep in granular materials are applied. The practical use of a theoretical framework presented earlier and the material characteristics used to develop an equation from which the necessary density can be predicted, are described. The empirical framework allows a quantitative approach to the problem of achieving nonsettling of a loose-fill insulation material in a given wall. The study involves the use of empirically derived equations to predict the density of a loose-fill insulation material required to ensure volume stability in a wall exposed to one type of cyclical humidity conditions. An empirical model for predicting the creep of materials has been developed in earlier papers. The creep was determined from the corresponding tests. The use of the method is demonstrated by showing the results from a full-scale wall test. The method is applied for different cavity sizes together with the associated characteristics of four hygroscopic and one nonhygroscopic loose-fill insulation materials exposed to the same climatic conditions. In addition, it is shown that for many repeated cyclical humidity conditions, the creep of the hygroscopic and nonhygroscopic loose-fill insulation materials asymptotically approached equilibrium.
A new method to determine phase velocities of Rayleigh waves from microseisms
Authors: Cho Ikuo , Tada Taku , Shinozaki Yuzo 
Published: December 2004

We have developed a new method to determine phase velocities from the vertical component of microseisms recorded with an array of seismic sensors spaced around the circumference of a circle. We calculate two different time histories by taking the average of the seismograms with differing sets of weights for the sensor stations. The spectral ratio of these two time histories contains no information on the arrival directions or on the amplitudes of the incoming waves but depends solely on the phase velocities of the arriving modes. Theoretical considerations indicate that the effects of directional aliasing caused by the use of a finite number of sensors in the field implementation of our method are small in most situations except for short wavelengths. The presence of incoherent noise limits the efficacy of our method for long wavelengths. In field tests using arrays of three seismic sensors, we obtained appropriate estimates of phase velocities in the wavelength range from 5r to 30r where r, the array radius, was on the order of a few meters.
Minimum weighted norm interpolation of seismic records
Authors: Liu Bin , Sacchi Mauricio D. 
Published: December 2004

In seismic data processing, we often need to interpolate and extrapolate data at missing spatial locations. The reconstruction problem can be posed as an inverse problem where, from inadequate and incomplete data, we attempt to reconstruct the seismic wavefield at locations where measurements were not acquired. We propose a wavefield reconstruction scheme for spatially band‐limited signals. The method entails solving an inverse problem where a wavenumber‐domain regularization term is included. The regularization term constrains the solution to be spatially band‐limited and imposes a prior spectral shape. The numerical algorithm is quite efficient since the method of conjugate gradients in conjunction with fast matrix–vector multiplications, implemented via the fast Fourier transform (FFT), is adopted. The algorithm can be used to perform multidimensional reconstruction in any spatial domain.
Replacement of the interchain disulfide bridge-forming amino acids A7 and B7 by glutamate impairs the structure and activity of insulin
Authors: Guo Zhan-Yun , Jia Xiao-Yuan , Feng You-Min 
Published: December 2004

AbstractInsulin contains three disulfide bonds, one intrachain bond, A6–A11, and two interchain bonds, A7–B7 and A20–B19. Site-directed mutagenesis results (the two cysteine residues of disulfide A7–B7 were replaced by serine) showed that disulfide A7–B7 is crucial to both the structure and activity of insulin. However, chemical modification results showed that the insulin analogs still retained relatively high biological activity when A7Cys and B7Cys were modified by chemical groups with a negative charge. Did the negative charge of the modification groups restore the loss of activity and/or the disturbance of structure of these insulin analogs caused by deletion of disulfide A7–B7? To answer this question, an insulin analog with both A7Cys and B7Cys replaced by Glu, which has a long side-chain and a negative charge, was prepared by protein engineering, and its structure and activity were analyzed. Both the structure and activity of the present analog are very similar to that of the mutant with disulfide A7–B7 replaced by Ser, but significantly different from that of wild-type insulin. The present results suggest that removal of disulfide A7–B7 will result in serious loss of biological activity and the native conformation of insulin, even if the disulfide is replaced by residues with a negative charge.
Book Reviews
Authors: Maloney Thomas , Sikkink Lynn , Creighton Millie , Diana Wilson Tamar , Smart Alan , Katz Naomi , Creighton Millie 
Published: December 2004

Smallholders, Householders: Farm Families and the Ecology of Intensive, Sustainable Agriculture., Netting Robert McC. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1993. xxi, 389 pages.Contesting Markets: Analyses of Idealogy, Discourse and Practice, Roy Dilley. editor. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh Press, 1993. 302 pages.Labor's Lot: The Power, History and Culture of Aboriginal Action. Elizabeth A. Povinelli. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993. xii. 331 pages.Money Makes Us Relatives: Women's Labor in Urban Turkey, jenny R. White. Austin: University of Texas Press, xiv. 190 pages.Cultural Economies Past and Present. Rhoda H. Halperin. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994. viii. 309 pages.All Anybody Ever Wanted of Me Was to Work: The Memoirs of Edith Bradley Rendleman, edited by Jane Adams. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1996Kuna Crafts, Gender, and the Global Economy. Karin E. Tice. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1995, viii +223 pages.
Working Knowledge: What Anthropologies of Science and Technology Can Do for an Anthropology of Work
Authors: Gerald Collins Samuel 
Published: December 2004

Nuclear Rites:. Weapons Laboratory at the End of the Cold War Hugh Gusterson. Berkeley: University of California Press,1996Flexible Bodies: Tracking Immunity in American Culture‐From the Days of Polio to the Age of AIDS Emily Martin. Boston: Beacon Press,1994Beamtimes and Lifetimes: The World of High Energy Physicists Sharon Traweek. Cambridge: Harvard University Press,1988