bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Cirrus Cloud Properties Derived from MODIS Data Using Cloud Properties Derived from Ground-Based Observations Collected at the ARM SGP Site
Authors: Mace Gerald G. , Zhang Yuying , Platnick Steven , King Michael D. , Minnis Patrick , Yang Ping 
Published: March 2005

AbstractThe Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the NASA Terra satellite has been collecting global data since March 2000 and the one on the Aqua satellite since June 2002. In this paper, cirrus cloud properties derived from ground-based remote sensing data are compared with similar cloud properties derived from MODIS data on Terra. To improve the space–time correlation between the satellite and ground-based observations, data from a wind profiler are used to define the cloud advective streamline along which the comparisons are made. In this paper, approximately two dozen cases of cirrus are examined and a statistical approach to the comparison that relaxes the requirement that clouds occur over the ground-based instruments during the overpass instant is explored. The statistical comparison includes 168 cloudy MODIS overpasses of the Southern Great Plains (SGP) region and approximately 300 h of ground-based cirrus observations. The physical and radiative properties of cloud layers are derived from MODIS data separately by the MODIS Atmospheres Team and the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Science Team using multiwavelength reflected solar and emitted thermal radiation measurements. Using two ground-based cloud property retrieval algorithms and the two MODIS algorithms, a positive correlation in the effective particle size, the optical thickness, the ice water path, and the cloud-top pressure between the various methods is shown, although sometimes there are significant biases. Classifying the clouds by optical thickness, it is demonstrated that the regionally averaged cloud properties derived from MODIS are similar to those diagnosed from the ground. Because of a conservative approach toward identifying thin cirrus pixels over this region, the area-averaged cloud properties derived from the MODIS Atmospheres MOD06 product tend to be biased slightly toward the optically thicker pixels. This bias tendency has implications for model validation and parameterization development applied to thin cirrus retrieved over SGP-like land surfaces. A persistent bias is also found in the derived cloud tops of thin cirrus with both satellite algorithms reporting cloud top several hundred meters less than that reported by the cloud radar. Overall, however, it is concluded that the MODIS retrieval algorithms characterize with reasonable accuracy the properties of thin cirrus over this region.
Estimating a preference-based index for a menopause specific health quality of life questionnaire
Authors: Brazier John E , Roberts Jennifer , Platts Maria , Zoellner York F 
Published: March 2005

Abstract

Background
The aim of the study was to develop a menopause-specific, preference-based health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) index reflecting both menopausal symptoms and potential side-effects of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).

Methods
The study had three phases: the development of a health state classification, a prospective valuation survey and the estimation of a model to interpolate HRQoL indices for all remaining health states as defined by the classification. A menopausal health state classification was developed with seven dimensions: hot flushes, aching joints/muscles, anxious/frightened feelings, breast tenderness, bleeding, vaginal dryness and undesirable androgenic signs. Each dimension contains between three and five levels and defines a total of 6,075 health states. A sample of 96 health states was selected for the valuation survey. These states were valued by a sample of 229 women aged 45 to 60, randomly selected from 6 general practice lists in Sheffield, UK. Respondents were asked to complete a time trade-off (TTO) task for nine health states, resulting in an average of 16.5 values for each health state.

Results
Mean health states valued range from 0.48 to 0.98 (where 1.0 is full health and zero is for states regarded as equivalent to death). Symptoms, as described by the classification system, can be rank-ordered in terms of their impact (from high to low) on menopausal HRQoL as follows: aching joints and muscles, bleeding, breast tenderness, anxious or frightened feelings, vaginal dryness, androgenic signs. Hot flushes did not significantly contribute to model fit. The preferred model produced a mean absolute error of 0.053, but suffered from bias at both ends of the scale.

Conclusion
This article presents an attempt to directly value a condition specific health state classification. The overall fit was disappointing, but the results demonstrate that menopausal symptoms are perceived by patients to have a significant impact on utility. The overall effect is modest compared to the more generic health state descriptions such as the EQ-5D. The resultant algorithm generates a preference-based index that can be used economic evaluation and that reflects the impact of this condition.
Genome-wide prediction and identification of cis-natural antisense transcripts in Arabidopsis thaliana
Authors: Wang Xiu-Jie , Gaasterland Terry , Chua Nam-Hai 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
Background
Natural antisense transcripts (NAT) are a class of endogenous coding or non-protein-coding RNAs with sequence complementarity to other transcripts. Several lines of evidence have shown that cis- and trans-NATs may participate in a broad range of gene regulatory events. Genome-wide identification of cis-NATs in human, mouse and rice has revealed their widespread occurrence in eukaryotes. However, little is known about cis-NATs in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

Results
We developed a new computational method to predict and identify cis-encoded NATs in Arabidopsis and found 1,340 potential NAT pairs. The expression of both sense and antisense transcripts of 957 NAT pairs was confirmed using Arabidopsis full-length cDNAs and public massively parallel signature sequencing (MPSS) data. Three known or putative Arabidopsis imprinted genes have cis-antisense transcripts. Sequences and the genomic arrangement of two Arabidopsis NAT pairs are conserved in rice.

Conclusion
We combined information from full-length cDNAs and Arabidopsis genome annotation in our NAT prediction work and reported cis-NAT pairs that could not otherwise be identified by using one of the two datasets only. Analysis of MPSS data suggested that for most Arabidopsis cis-NAT pairs, there is predominant expression of one of the two transcripts in a tissue-specific manner.
Interpretation of Material Hardness, Stress Ratio, and Crack Size Effects on the ΔKth of Small Cracks Based on Crack Closure Measurement
Authors: Kondo Y , Sakae C , Kubota M , Kashiwagi M 
Published: March 2005

AbstractFatigue tests were performed on materials containing small cracks to investigate the effects of material hardness, mean stress, and crack size on the threshold stress intensity factor of small cracks. The crack closure measurement on a very small crack was done. Although most of those effects could be explained by the characteristic behavior of crack closure in small cracks, it was also shown that (ΔKeff)th was also affected by crack size. The combination of (ΔKeff)th and the crack closure behaviors caused the peculiar characteristics of ΔKth in small cracks. At an extremely high R region, an unusual decrease in ΔKth was found to occur. The large reduction occurred under the conjunction of three factors: extremely high stress ratio higher than 0.8, shallow crack less than a few tenths of a millimeter, and hard material whose HV is higher than 300. The near-threshold fatigue crack propagation rate could be uniquely evaluated even in such a short crack regime using the effective stress intensity factor with the following modification {ΔKeff − (ΔKeff)th,a}. This expression could be applicable in the short crack regime. ΔKeff still plays a role as the governing parameter for fatigue crack propagation of short crack as short as 0.04 mm.
Temperature Dependent Fracture Toughness of a Single Crystal Nickel Superalloy
Authors: Bahr DM , Steven Johnson W 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
An important application of nickel base superalloys is in the industrial gas turbine (IGT) industry, where the high temperature capabilities of these alloys are exploited. Extensive testing has focused on the tensile and fatigue properties of single crystal versions of these alloys. The single crystals are utilized in the hottest parts of the turbine, where a detailed knowledge of material behavior is critical to design and life assessment. However, studies on the effects of temperature on fracture toughness have largely been absent in both past and present literature. Therefore, the goal of this research is to characterize the fracture toughness properties of a second-generation single crystal nickel superalloy at elevated temperatures. The experimental methods follow ASTM guidelines, as does the analysis for the elastic (K) and plastic (J integral) deformation. The toughness values were invalid for plain strain fracture toughness, but this should be expected from a structural material. In spite of this fact, both the K- and J-based analyses reveal consistent trends. Increased plasticity at elevated temperatures results in an overall increase in toughness as temperature increases. Unusual cases with inclined pre-cracks and microstructural defects did not technically yield valid results, although they were consistent with the nominal cases. Overall, the results indicate that the toughness of single crystal nickel alloys is actually quite high. Thus, the lack of work in this subject is understandable. However, it would seem that any design and lifting work would benefit from an understanding of such a fundamental property.
Revised Interlaboratory Study of Sweating Thermal Manikins Including Results from the Sweating Agile Thermal Manikin
Authors: Richards MGM , McCullough EA 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
Recently thermal and evaporative resistances of five clothing ensembles were measured using thermal manikins at six laboratories. For evaporative resistances, the manikin surfaces were wetted prior to or constantly during measurement. In this paper, previous resistance values are combined with results from the Sweating Agile Thermal Manikin of EMPA. For all ensembles, reproducibility of the intrinsic thermal resistance between labs improved by 4–9% after including EMPA results and a further 16–39% for four ensembles after excluding results from another lab. The intrinsic evaporative resistance reproducibility for three ensembles improved by 7–9% after including EMPA and by 7–29% excluding the other lab. In spite of these improvements, differences in manikin design, measurement, and calculation methodologies still account for the large reproducibilities ranging from 22–46% and from 41–38% for the intrinsic thermal and evaporative resistances, respectively. Presently, ASTM is drafting a new standard for sweating thermal manikins. Standardization and methodological improvement, including proposals presented here, should help to reduce these reproducibilities in future.
Predicted Deposition Variability Due to Fluctuations in Release Height and Drop Size Distribution
Authors: Teske ME , Thistle HW , Reardon RC , Cormier G , Amirault P , Davies DC , Scott Cameron R , Dorr G , Hewitt AJ , Brown JR , LeClerc MY , Karipot A 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
An extensive field study has been undertaken to quantify the aerial release of spray material through the changes in meteorology as the day progresses. An important subset of these collected data is one-second interval data of the aircraft behavior and the mechanical release systems. These unique data provide an excellent source of information on bounding the variability in the expected deposition patterns, and how this variability might impact any error bounds established around the time-averaged predictions generated by the AGDISP model. This paper quantifies the variability in aerial application parameters and makes suggestions with regard to possible implications of this variability on the variability of deposition predictions in the flight line direction.
Use of HMA Stiffness Results as a Referee Test in Indiana
Authors: McDaniel RS , Gallivan VL , Huber GA , Andrewski DH , Miller M 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) began implementing volumetric acceptance of hot mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures in 2001. In some cases the air void contents of the plant-produced mixtures have been less than 2.0%. Rather than require removal and replacement of low air void mixes in all cases, INDOT implemented an optional referee testing procedure. This procedure allows contractors to leave low air void material in place, at reduced pay, if the stiffness of the placed material is equal to or greater than a specified minimum. If the stiffness is less, that sublot must be removed and replaced. The rationale is that if the stiffness is high enough, even if the air voids are low, the material would be expected to perform adequately. If the low air voids are accompanied by low stiffness, rutting performance would likely be compromised. This paper describes the rationale, development, and implementation of this program.
Inhibitors for Reducing Hydrogen Ingress During Corrosion of Zirconium Alloys
Authors: Elmoselhi MB , Donner A 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
Zirconium alloys, used in manufacturing nuclear core components, particularly fuel cladding (in most reactor types) and pressure tubes in CANDU® (Canada Deuterium Uranium) reactors, are usually subject to aqueous corrosion and hydrogen uptake during service. The build up of hydrogen concentration during operation can be a life-limiting factor for these components. In order to slow down the rate of hydrogen uptake and to prolong the operating life of these critical reactor components, a remedial action was targeted. A comprehensive experimental program has been carried out to identify potential inhibiting agents to be introduced into the environment of the corrosion process. The inhibiting agents were expected to intervene in the corrosion reactions to reduce the hydrogen uptake rate. Screening experiments were conducted in short-term exposures (up to 30 days) of coupons from several zirconium alloys, such as Zircaloy-2,Zircaloy-4 and Zr-2.5 weight % Nb, in high temperature (340°C) aqueous out-reactor environments simulating the CANDU heat transport coolant with various chemical compound additives. Several additives of nitrogen-containing compounds appeared to reduce hydrogen ingress significantly; up to 90% reduction was observed. The beneficial effect of the presence of nitrogen on hydrogen uptake in these exposures might be related to its role in the production of ammonia from hydrogen liberated by the zirconium corrosion reactions. The ammonia generation mechanism has been proposed in the Ceramics literature as a means of increasing the yield of cubic zirconia during the hydrothermal oxidation of Zr in the presence of calcium nitrate. The formation of ammonia is associated with a significant reduction in the hydrogen available for pickup by the alloy. This hypothesis was confirmed in our experiments by the detection of ammonia in the post-exposure solutions. For all tested solutions with nitrogen-containing additives, ammonia was detected in the post-exposure solutions, while no ammonia was found in the post-exposure control solution or other solutions with non-nitrogen additives such as boric acid. Results from post-exposure analyses, oxide characterization, and a preliminary investigation into radiolysis implications are presented.
Recovery and Quantification of Mycobacterium Immunogenum DNA from Metalworking Fluids Using Dual-Labeled Probes
Authors: Veillette M , Pagé G , Thorne PS , Duchaine C 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
Mycobacteria in metalworking fluids (MWF) are associated with hypersensitivity pneumonitis but are difficult to recover using culture. Quantitative PCR is a promising approach to quantify mycobacteria, but three challenges exist: mycobacterial cell lysis, high-yield DNA extraction, and removal of PCR inhibitors. We used Mycobacterium spp. primers to amplify polymorphic regions of 16S-rDNA flanked with highly conserved regions. A standard curve was constructed by cloning M. immunogenum amplification product. We developed single tube DNA extraction employing mixer mill cell disruption, enzymatic digestions (lysozyme, proteinase K) followed by a mechanical disruption, and column purification. MWF was spiked with M. immunogenum, and DNA was successfully extracted. Mycobacterial 16S-RNA genes were quantified by comparing PCR amplification detection (Cycle Threshold) from our samples with that obtained from the standard curve. Recovery and quantification of mycobacterial DNA from spiked samples approached 100 %. A rapid method for quantification of mycobacteria in MWF was demonstrated.
Configuration Interaction: Corrections for Size‐Consistency
Authors: Szalay Péter G. 
Published: March 2005

AbstractIn this article, the size‐consistency corrected MR‐CI methods are reviewed. First, the origin of the size‐consistency error of the CI method is analyzed and the possible corrections derived, in particular, the importance of the EPV (exclusion principle violating) terms is discussed. A complete list of methods using such a correction is presented. These methods belong to two groups depending on whether the correction modifies the original CI equations or just the CI energy is correcteda posteriori. The first group is referred to asCEPA‐type methods, while the second one is known asDavidson‐type methods. According to the approximation used for the correction, the methods can be classified whether they include EPV terms or not.Guidance for choosing the best among thse methods will be given on the basis of theoretical arguments, availability, and numerical experience. The latter analysis is mostly based on data from the literature but this article will also present some results to demonstrate the performance of the various methods. Importance of the possible calculation of analytical gradients is also discussed.
Kombinierte Säurekatalyse in der asymmetrischen Synthese durch “Designer‐Säuren”
Authors: Yamamoto Hisashi , Futatsugi Kentaro 
Published: March 2005

AbstractLewis‐ und Brønsted‐Säuren können durch verfeinerte Techniken in effektivere Reagentien überführt werden. Ziel der Entwicklung solcher “Designer‐Säuren” sind hohe Reaktivitäten und Selektivitäten sowie eine vielseitige Anwendbarkeit bei Reaktionen, die das Potenzial von Säurekatalysatoren nicht vollständig ausschöpfen. In der Katalysatorplanung wird insbesondere das Konzept der kombinierten Säuren zum Design enantioselektiver Katalysen genutzt. Diese sind unterteilt in Brønsted‐Säure‐aktivierte Lewis‐Säuren (BLAs), Lewis‐Säure‐aktivierte Lewis‐Säuren (LLAs), Lewis‐Säure‐aktivierte Brønsted‐Säuren (LBAs) und Brønsted‐Säure‐aktivierte Brønsted‐Säuren (BBAs). Bei der kombinierten Anwendung von Säuren bleibt zum einen die inhärente Reaktivität der assoziierten Komponenten erhalten, zum anderen stehen höher organisierte Strukturen zur Verfügung, die eine wirksame asymmetrische Umgebung schaffen.
Correlations between access to mammography and breast cancer stage at diagnosis
Authors: Marchick Julie , Henson Donald E. 
Published: March 2005

AbstractBACKGROUNDThere is a lack of data on the access to mammography and its relation to the incidence of early breast cancer. In this study, the authors evaluated access by correlating geographically the number of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)‐certified mammography facilities and the AJCC stage of breast cancer at diagnosis by county.METHODSBreast cancer incidence rates and stage at diagnosis were compared with the number of FDA‐certified mammography facilities by county in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results reporting areas. The objective was to determine whether the number of certified facilities was associated with the percent of breast cancers diagnosed at the in situ stage. This was a multiple‐group ecologic study, and counties were used as the units of analysis.RESULTSThere was a strong correlation between the number of mammography facilities and the population of a county, whereas there was no correlation between the number of mammography facilities and the land area of a county. A correlation existed between the percent of incident breast cancers that were diagnosed as in situ disease and the number of mammography facilities per 10,000 women among both whites and African Americans.CONCLUSIONSThere was an association between the number of mammography facilities and population. In counties with ≥ 30,000 black and white females, 1) the percent of in situ breast cancers in black women and white women was correlated with the number of facilities per 10,000 women, indicating that population density is a factor in access for both racial groups; 2) except for 2 counties with ≥ 30,000 black women, the percent of incident in situ cases was similar in both black women and white women, indicating equal access in both groups; and 3) there was a correlation between the percent in situ incidence and number of facilities per 1000 square miles in white women, but not in black women. There was a direct correlation of statewide mammography rates with the number of facilities per 1000 square miles, indicating that the rate of screening depends on availability. Maximum rates of statewide screening were achieved when there were > 15 mammography facilities per 1000 square miles. Cancer 2005;103:1571–80. © 2005 American Cancer Society.
Evaluation of the quality of radiotherapy randomized trials for painful bone metastases
Authors: Shakespeare Thomas P. , Thiagarajan Anuradha , Gebski Val 
Published: March 2005

AbstractBACKGROUNDThe quality of randomized radiotherapy studies investigating the palliation of painful bone metastases has been questioned, with some authors recognizing the potential impact of bias on result interpretation. However, there has been no published comprehensive evaluation of quality assessment. The goals of the current study were to evaluate the quality of randomized studies using a validated checklist and to discuss implications and future directions.METHODSThe authors performed a search for studies that could be reliably assessed using the validated quality assessment instrument. Independent assessors scored study quality using the instrument.RESULTSThe median quality score of the 17 identified randomized studies was 1 of 5 (range, 0–3). The majority (71%) of points were awarded for the authors describing the study as “randomized.” The method of randomization and description of withdrawals and dropouts were scored poorly for most studies. None of the studies were awarded points for allocation concealment (blinding). The overall quality was deemed poor (a score of 0–2) for 16 of 17 (94%) studies.CONCLUSIONSThe quality of published randomized evidence comparing efficacy of fractionation schedules for the palliation of bone metastases was suboptimal. As a result of the potential biases present, subjective end points (e.g., retreatment rates) cannot be reliably evaluated. Greater efforts are required by radiation oncology trial groups to improve quality, with a particular focus on developing methods of allocation concealment and comprehensively reporting results. Cancer 2005. © 2005 American Cancer Society.