bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of variation in background mixing ratios of N2, O2, and Ar on the measurement of δ18O-H2O and δ2H-H2O values by cavity ring-down spectroscopy
Authors: Johnson Jennifer E. , Rella Chris W.
Published: April 2017

Abstract. Cavity ring-down spectrometers have generally been designed to operate under conditions in which the background gas has a constant composition. However, there are a number of observational and experimental situations of interest in which the background gas has a variable composition. In this study, we examine the effect of background gas composition on a cavity ring-down spectrometer that measures δ18O-H2O and δ2H-H2O values based on the amplitude of water isotopologue absorption features around 7184 cm−1 (L2120-i, Picarro, Inc.). For background mixtures balanced with N2, the apparent δ18O-H2O values deviate from true values by −0.50 ± 0.001 ‰ O2 %−1 and −0.57 ± 0.001 ‰ Ar %−1, and apparent δ2H-H2O values deviate from true values by 0.26 ± 0.004 ‰ O2 %−1 and 0.42 ± 0.004 ‰ Ar %−1. The artifacts are the result of broadening, narrowing, and shifting of both the target absorption lines and strong neighboring lines. While the background-induced isotopic artifacts can largely be corrected with simple empirical or semi-mechanistic models, neither type of model is capable of completely correcting the isotopic artifacts to within the inherent instrument precision. The development of strategies for dynamically detecting and accommodating background variation in N2, O2, and/or Ar would facilitate the application of cavity ring-down spectrometers to a new class of observations and experiments.
Soil microbial community structure and diversity are largely influenced by soil pH and nutrient quality in 78-year-old tree plantations
Authors: Zhou Xiaoqi , Guo Zhiying , Chen Chengrong , Jia Zhongjun
Published: April 2017

Abstract. Forest plantations have been recognised as a key strategy management tool for stocking carbon (C) in soils, thereby contributing to climate warming mitigation. However, long-term ecological consequences of anthropogenic forest plantations on the community structure and diversity of soil microorganisms and the underlying mechanisms in determining these patterns are poorly understood. In this study, we selected 78-year-old tree plantations that included three coniferous tree species (i.e. slash pine, hoop pine and kauri pine) and a eucalypt species in subtropical Australia. We investigated the patterns of community structure, and the diversity of soil bacteria and eukaryotes by using high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA genes. We also measured the potential methane oxidation capacity under different tree species. The results showed that slash pine and Eucalyptus significantly increased the dominant taxa of bacterial Acidobacteria and the dominant taxa of eukaryotic Ascomycota, and formed clusters of soil bacterial and eukaryotic communities, which were clearly different from the clusters under hoop pine and kauri pine. Soil pH and nutrient quality indicators such as C : nitrogen (N) and extractable organic C : extractable organic N were key factors in determining the patterns of soil bacterial and eukaryotic communities between the different tree species treatments. Slash pine and Eucalyptus had significantly lower soil bacterial and eukaryotic operational taxonomical unit numbers and lower diversity indices than kauri pine and hoop pine. A key factor limitation hypothesis was introduced, which gives a reasonable explanation for lower diversity indices under slash pine and Eucalyptus. In addition, slash pine and Eucalyptus had a higher soil methane oxidation capacity than the other tree species. These results suggest that significant changes in soil microbial communities may occur in response to chronic disturbance by tree plantations, and highlight the importance of soil pH and physiochemical characteristics in microbially mediated ecological processes in forested soils.
Holocene dynamics in the Bering Strait inflow to the Arctic and the Beaufort Gyre circulation based on sedimentary records from the Chukchi Sea
Authors: Yamamoto Masanobu , Nam Seung-Il , Polyak Leonid , Kobayashi Daisuke , Suzuki Kenta , Irino Tomohisa , Shimada Koji
Published: April 2017

Abstract. The Beaufort Gyre (BG) and the Bering Strait inflow (BSI) are important elements of the Arctic Ocean circulation system and major controls on the distribution of Arctic sea ice. We report records of the quartz/feldspar and chlorite/illite ratios in three sediment cores from the northern Chukchi Sea providing insights into the long-term dynamics of the BG circulation and the BSI during the Holocene. The quartz/feldspar ratio, a proxy of the BG strength, gradually decreased during the Holocene, suggesting a long-term decline in the BG strength, consistent with orbitally-controlled decrease in summer insolation. We suppose that the BG rotation weakened as a result of increasing stability of sea-ice cover at the margins of the Canada Basin, driven by decreasing insolation. Millennial to multi-centennial variability in the quartz/feldspar ratio (the BG circulation) is consistent with fluctuations in solar irradiance, suggesting that solar activity affected the BG strength on these timescales. The BSI approximated by the chlorite/illite record shows intensified flow from the Bering Sea to the Arctic during the middle Holocene, which is attributed primarily to the effect of an overall weaker Aleutian Low. The middle Holocene intensification of the BSI was associated with decrease in sea ice concentrations and increase in marine production, as indicated by biomarker concentrations, suggesting an influence of the BSI on sea ice distribution and biological production in the Chukchi Sea.
REDCAPP (v1.0): Parameterizing valley inversions in air temperature data downscaled from re-analyses
Authors: Cao Bin , Gruber Stephan , Zhang Tingjun
Published: April 2017

Abstract. In mountain areas, the use of coarse-grid re-analysis data for driving fine-scale models requires downscaling of near-surface (e.g. 2 m high) air temperature. Existing approaches describe lapse rates well but differ in how they include surface effects, i.e. the difference between the simulated 2 m and upper-air temperatures. We show that different treatment of surface effects result in some methods making better predictions in valleys while others are better in summit areas. We propose the downscaling method REDCAPP (REanalysis Downscaling Cold Air Pooling Parameterization) with a spatially variable magnitude of surface effects. Results are evaluated with observations (395 stations) from two mountain regions and compared with three reference methods. Our findings suggest that the difference between near-surface air temperature and pressure-level temperature (∆T) is a good proxy of surface effects. It can be used with a spatially-variable Land-Surface Correction-Factor (LSCF) for improving downscaling results, especially in valleys with strong surface effects and cold air pooling during winter. While LSCF can be parameterized from a fine-scale digital elevation model (DEM), the transfer of model parameters between mountain ranges needs further investigation.
Disaster risk reduction education in Indonesia: challenges and recommendations for scaling up
Authors: Amri Avianto , Bird Deanne K. , Ronan Kevin , Haynes Katharine , Towers Briony
Published: April 2017

Abstract. This article investigates the implementation of disaster risk reduction education for children in Indonesia. In the last decade, education programmes related to this subject have been promoted as capable of reducing disaster losses and increasing resilience, based on several studies that have identified positive outcomes. Therefore, it is critical to evaluate and address any potential challenges that might impede their success. The article uses a case study in Jakarta, a rapidly growing megacity that is highly prone to disasters and natural hazards, especially floods and fires, to explore the scaling up and sustainability of disaster risk reduction in Indonesian schools. Based on previous studies, a new approach was developed for evaluating the implementation of education programmes related to these subjects. This study captured the perspectives of children, school personnel, and non-governmental organisations on the challenges of scaling up the implementation of disaster risk reduction education in schools. The study revealed seven key issues and suggests several policy recommendations to move forward. These key issues may also be apparent in many other developing and developed countries, and the suggested recommendations may well be applicable beyond Indonesia.
Modeled changes in 100 year Flood Risk and Asset Damages within Mapped Floodplains of the Contiguous United States
Authors: Wobus Cameron , Gutmann Ethan , Jones Russell , Rissing Matthew , Mizukami Naoki , Lorie Mark , Mahoney Hardee , Wood Andrew W. , Mills David , Martinich Jeremy
Published: April 2017

Abstract. A growing body of recent work suggests that the extreme weather events that drive inland flooding are likely to increase in frequency and magnitude in a warming climate, thus increasing flooding damages in the future. We use hydrologic projections based on the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) to estimate changes in the frequency of modeled 1 % annual exceedance probability flood events at 57 116 locations across the contiguous United States (CONUS). We link these flood projections to a database of assets within mapped flood hazard zones to model changes in inland flooding damages throughout the CONUS over the remainder of the 21st century. Our model generates early 21st century flood damages that reasonably approximate the range of historical observations, and trajectories of future damages that vary substantially depending on the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions pathway. The difference in modeled flood damages between higher and lower emissions pathways approaches $ 4 billion per year by 2100 (in undiscounted 2014 dollars), suggesting that aggressive GHG emissions reductions could generate significant monetary benefits over the long-term in terms of reduced flood risk. Although the downscaled hydrologic data we used have been applied to flood impacts studies elsewhere, this research expands on earlier work to quantify changes in flood risk by linking future flood exposure to assets and damages at a national scale. This work uses relatively conservative assumptions and methods that ultimately affect damage estimates; future work is needed to test sensitivity related to these methodological choices (e.g., more sophisticated downscaling methods, use of multiple hydrologic models, and consideration of a wider range of flood magnitudes).
Ku Klux Kasserole and Strange Fruit Pies: A Shouting Match at the Border in Cyberspace
Authors: Bock Sheila
Published: April 2017

Twitter users’ responses to the 2013 Paula Deen “N-word” scandal offer a rich site for examining how racial dynamics shape collective performances in digital spaces. Focusing on the tweets inspired by the #PaulasBestDishes hashtag, this article first shows how these vernacular forms of expression playfully engaged with Deen’s image system in order to speak back to the broader cultural discourses around racism in the present day. Second, it examines how the complex racial dynamics in the United States informed not only the content, but also the social context of these tweets, attending specifically to how differential identity served as the social base of this collective digital performance. Ultimately, this article identifies new avenues of inquiry for gaining a greater understanding of the dynamics of digital performance within a cultural context shaped by social difference and ongoing racial tensions.
A Lesson in Presenting: The Smithsonian Folklife Festival Model
Authors: Cadaval Olivia
Published: April 2017

This essay addresses issues of framing, first voice, and authority in presenting culture in public programs. It examines a cultural presentation at the First Americans Festival inaugurating the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and the manner in which a “presented” artist appropriated the presenter’s role for dialoguing with the visitors about who they were and what they did.
Folk Literature and the Invention of Tradition: The Case of the Barzaz Breiz
Authors: Badone Ellen
Published: April 2017

Since its publication in 1839, the Barzaz Breiz has influenced the development of nationalism, folklore studies, and ethnography in Brittany. Presented originally as a collection of oral ballads, the work was later shown to consist of composite texts subject to extensive rewriting. As with the Kinder- und Hausmärchen and Poems of Ossian, the authenticity of the Barzaz Breiz has been the subject of extensive scholarly controversy, particularly within France. This paper summarizes the history of scholarship about the Barzaz Breiz and argues that it is best understood as a key element in the ongoing construction of Breton identity.
Cognitive Abilities, Democracy and Intellectual Property Rights Protection
Authors: Odilova Shoirahon , Gu Xiaomin
Published: April 2017

The goal of this research is to investigate the link between cognitive abilities, as measured by cognitive abilities index and intellectual property rights protection using cross-national data. The findings suggest that cognitive abilities at a national level are significantly related with IPR protection. As expected intellectual capacity is positively and significantly related to the intellectual property rights and explain nearly 23% of cross national differences. In particular, a one standard deviation increase in the cognitive abilities index is associated with slightly less than a half standard deviation rise in IPR index. However, 65% of the effect of cognitive abilities on IPR protection is mediated by the democratic institutions.
Tow-Objective Model of Green Supply Chain with the Cost Evaluation
Authors: Abbas Shiri Abbas Shiri , Forouhar Mansour , Albadi Jalal
Published: April 2017

In recent years, the supply chain has become a subject of interest for the managers and captains of industry and the life and death of the business organizations and corporation depend on the activity of intertwined chains. Beyond this definition, by adding the term Green, chain management refers to green procurement, green production, green distribution, green supply and inverse logistic. The main approach of this paper is designing and offering a mathematical model for designing the green supply chain networks, which three-level planning is developed, which is aimed in optimizing two contradictory goals and has problem conflicts including 1- minimization of costs, and 2- minimization of environmental pollutants. The problem is expressed as the longitudinal programming of integer numbers. Results show applicability and practicality of this model.
Wastewater Automation – The Development of a Low Cost, Distributed Automation System
Authors: Davies Tom , MAJ Stanislaw Paul
Published: April 2017

In developed countries wastewater management is considered a vital aspect of community health and wellbeing. Failures in wastewater management may result in the release of pathogens into natural water bodies and in extreme circumstances into drinking water. Illnesses caused by contamination range from gastroenteritis and viral infections to death. As such in Australia it is a highly regulated industry accountable to a range of state authorized bodies such as Department of Environment Regulations (DER) and Department of Health (DoH) . The Shire of Moora was made responsible for their wastewater system in 2013. An analysis of this system found that the SCADA system conveyed fault location but no alarm status information. It should be noted that alarm status is needed in order to determine required responses. In order to address this problem a range of different potential solutions were evaluated according to a wide range of ranked factors such as cost, security, features etc. This resulted in the design and implementation of a low cost, distributed wireless solution based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. The authors believe this is the first implementation of this system in a rural/regional environment.
A Good Numerical Method for the Solution of Generalized Regularized Long Wave Equation
Authors: Zheng Fuchang , Bao Shuhong , Wang Yulan , Li Shuguang , Li Zhiyuan
Published: April 2017

The generalized regularized long wave equation is very important that can be applied in the field of physics,science and technology. Some authors have put forward many different numerical method, but the precision isnot enough high. In this paper, we will illustrate the high-precision numerical method to solve the generalizedregularized long wave equation. Three numerical examples are studied to demonstrate the accuracy of thepresent method. Results obtained by our method indicate new algorithm has the following advantages: smallcomputational work, fast convergence speed and high precision.
Determinants Transfer of Primary Business of Rice Farmers Household at Musi Rawas District South Sumatera Indonesia
Authors: Sari Fifian Permata , Mulyana Andy , Asmani Najib , - Yunita
Published: April 2017

Indonesia is a country whose majority lives of agriculture and food crop agriculture remains the livelihoods of the majority of the Indonesian population. South Sumatera province is one that is a center for food crops, especially rice. A district that has irrigation and a rice production center in South Sumatera is Musi Rawas District. In 10 years (1993-2013) recorded a decrease in the number of rice farmers households is significant in Indonesia, including in South Sumatera. Changes in the amount of rice farming households in the province of South Sumatera by Agricultural Census 2013 indicates the state of declining, even in the central areas of food. This situation is further interesting to study the determinants of primary business of rice farmers to plant non-food and non-agriculture, especially in the central areas of food and irrigated in South Sumatera, Indonesia. This study used survey method and logistic regression for the analysis data. The result shows that factors affecting farmers’ decision to switch or not switch from the main businesses, namely rice farm to farm fish, rubber and non-agricultural businesses is land area, household income from rice, the income of non rice, grain price at farmers level, revenue from non paddy, costs of farming, commodity prices, employment opportunities outside of the main business, farming experience and knowledge of farmers on land conversion rules.
Current and Future Treatment Options for Narcolepsy: A Review
Authors: Bhattarai Jackie , Sumerall Scott
Published: April 2017

Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological sleep disorder with potentially disabling symptoms ranging from occupational concerns to mental health difficulties. Recent advances related to the neurobiological basis of narcolepsy have led to newer pharmacological treatment options and adjunctive behavioral techniques that support symptom management. This article outlines evidence-based pharmacologic therapies, behavioral techniques, and psychosocial costs related to narcolepsy. Psychosocial factors, although frequently acknowledged, deserve further attention and awareness from researchers and providers. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine's (AASM) Quality Measure Drivers and potential future treatment options are also discussed.
Olfactory impairment is related to REM sleep deprivation in rotenone model of Parkinson's disease
Authors: Aurich Mariana F. , Rodrigues Lais S. , Targa Adriano D. S. , Noseda Ana Carolina D. , Cunha Flávia D. W. , Lima Marcelo M. S.
Published: April 2017

Introduction Olfactory dysfunction affects about 85-90% of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with severe deterioration in the ability of discriminate several types of odors. In addition, studies reported declines in olfactory performances during a short period of sleep deprivation. Besides, PD is also known to strongly affect the occurrence and maintenance of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

Methods Therefore, we investigated the mechanisms involved on discrimination of a social odor (dependent on the vomeronasal system) and a non-social odor (related to the main olfactory pathway) in the rotenone model of PD. Also, a concomitant impairment in REM sleep was inflicted with the introduction of two periods (24 or 48 h) of REM sleep deprivation (REMSD). Rotenone promoted a remarkable olfactory impairment in both social and non-social odors, with a notable modulation induced by 24 h of REMSD for the non-social odor.

Results Our findings demonstrated the occurrence of a strong association between the density of nigral TH-ir neurons and the olfactory discrimination capacity for both odorant stimuli. Specifically, the rotenone-induced decrease of these neurons tends to elicit reductions in the olfactory discrimination ability.

Conclusions These results are consistent with the participation of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system mainly in the olfactory discrimination of a non-social odor, probably through the main olfactory pathway. Such involvement may have produce relevant impact in the preclinical abnormalities found in PD patients.
Educación en medios y competencia mediática en la educación secundaria en España
Authors: Medina Vidal Fernando , Briones Peñalver Antonio Juan , Hernández Gómez Elena
Published: April 2017

La educación en medios se considera el elemento primordial para alcanzar un alto grado de alfabetización mediática en los alumnos adolescentes de la nueva sociedad digital emergente, puesto que les ofrece las herramientas necesarias para fortalecer sus principios y valores a la hora de consumir contenidos digitales y mediáticos de manera responsable. A través de una profunda revisión bibliográfica se estudia la educación en medios y el nivel de integración de la competencia mediática en el currículo de la educación secundaria en España. Los resultados de esta investigación revelan que el modelo actual de enseñanza-aprendizaje digital y mediático de la educación secundaria se centra en el manejo instrumental de dispositivos y en la creación de contenidos digitales y mediáticos, dejando en un segundo plano la educación en medios y para los medios. Esto demuestra que las políticas sobre alfabetización en medios no han calado lo suficiente en el sistema educativo.
Explorer le vécu de la crise à partir de la parole incarnée d’intervenants professant en unité de crise et d’urgences psychiatriques
Authors: Denis Jennifer , Hendrick Stephan
Published: April 2017

Cet article propose de partager le vécu de la crise d’intervenants professant en unité de crise et d’urgences psychiatriques. Cette première étape représente le point de départ d’une étude plus large qui vise à mettre en lumière les processus thérapeutiques à l’oeuvre dans le travail clinique de crise. Après une brève présentation de la problématique, du paradigme épistémologique et de la démarche méthodologique, nous déployons le processus du déroulement de la recherche. Pour conclure, nous proposons d’exposer les résultats. L’intérêt est porté sur les données empiriques qui mettent en lumière la parole incarnée des intervenants. Notre objectif est de donner du sens à l’essence du vécu des intervenants participant à cette étude.
Selected Topics on Advances in Capability-Oriented Information Systems Development: Editorial Introduction to Issue 10 of CSIMQ
Authors: Zdravkovic Jelena , Pastor Óscar , Loucopoulos Peri
Published: April 2017

Modern organizations need to be sustainable in the presence of dynamically changing business conditions, which require from Information Systems (IS) to address complex challenges for being able to support organizations acting in varying business conditions – changing customer demands, new legislations, new customers, and emerging alliances. From a technical perspective, the gap between business requirements and supporting IS is still present, mostly due to the fact that current IS development approaches operate with artifacts defined on a relatively low abstraction level. To go beyond the state of the art, IS development frameworks used by enterprises need to be structured for solving emerging problems, and enterprises need to have efficient methods for the use of these frameworks to deliver the right IS solutions just-in-time and just-enough. The notion of capability emerged in the beginning of the nineties in the context of competence-based management, military frameworks, and developing organization’s competitive advantage – linguistically, it means the ability or qualities necessary to do something.
A Comparative Analysis of Using the Capability Notion for Congruent Business and Information Systems Engineering
Authors: Zdravkovic Jelena , Stirna Janis , Grabis Jānis
Published: April 2017

The notion of capability has been gaining a growing attention in the business and information system (IS) engineering community due to a number of reasons: it facilitates focus on business investments, it can be used as a baseline for business planning, and it directly leads to service specification and design. It is not however widely known to what extent capability is considered in different modeling approaches, how it is defined, and what purpose it fulfills. This article analyzes how the notion of capability is included in the frameworks spanning from business-oriented such as Business Architecture and Business Value Modeling, to the alignment-oriented represented by Enterprise Architecture (EA), and Enterprise Modeling (EM). The results of the analysis have shown that capability has widespread presence in the frameworks and that its conceptual meaning is largely similar, while the intentions and the mechanisms of its use differ, which raises stimulating opportunities for new contributions and improvements in the field.
Value-Based and Context-Aware Selection of Software-Service Bundles: A Capability Based Method
Authors: Grabis Jānis , Sandkuhl Kurt
Published: April 2017

In many application areas, vendors offer to their clients combinations of software products and services, which can be considered as software-service bundles. The clients select a combination of software product and associated service best suited to their individual requirements and circumstances. The bundle usually has to be configured by the vendor to fit the specific situation of the client. When circumstances change, the software-service bundle or its configuration need adaptation. The article proposes a method helping clients to select the most appropriate combination or configuration. The method is based on information sharing between the vendor and client and also supports the continuous improvement of the solution in response to changing circumstances. The method applies principles and techniques of the Capability Driven Development to specify performance objectives and contextual factors affecting delivery of a software-service bundle. Application of the method is shown using an illustrative case of a data processing service from utility industries.
Combining Tools to Design and Develop Software Support for Capabilities
Authors: Henkel Martin , Stratigaki Christina , Stirna Janis , Loucopoulos Pericles , Zorgios Yannis , Migiakis Antonis
Published: April 2017

Analyzing, designing and implementing software systems based on the concept of capabilities have several benefits, such as the ability to design efficient monitoring of capabilities and their execution context. Today, there exist new model-driven methods and development tools that support capability-based analysis, design, and implementation. However, there are also a plethora of existing efficient development tools that are currently in use by organizations. In this article, we examine how a new set of capability based tools, the Capability Driven Development (CDD) environment, can be combined with model-driven development tools to leverage both novel capability-based functionality and the proven functionality of existing tools. We base the examination on a case study where an existing model-driven tool is combined with the CDD environment.
LightCDD: Application of a Capability-Driven Development Method for Start-ups Development
Authors: Koç Hasan , Ruiz Marcela , España Sergio
Published: April 2017

Novice innovators and entrepreneurs face the risk of designing naive business models. In fact, lack of viability in business models is perceived to be a major threat for the start-up success. Both the literature and the responses we gathered from experts in incubation present evidences of this problem. The LightCDD method helps entrepreneurs in the analysis, design and specification of start-ups that are context aware and adaptive to contextual changes and evolution. In this article we describe the LightCDD method, a context-aware enterprise modeling method that is tailored for business model generation. The LightCDD applies a lightweight Capability‑Driven Development (CDD) methodology. It reduces the set of modeling constructs and guidelines to facilitate its adoption by entrepreneurs, yet keeping it expressive enough for their purposes and, at the same time, compatible with the CDD methodology. We provide a booklet with the LightCDD method for start-ups development. The feasibility of the LightCDD method is validated by means of its application to one start-up development case. From a practitioner viewpoint (entrepreneurs and experts in incubation), it is important to provide integrative modeling perspectives to specify business ideas, but it is vital to keep it light. The LightCDD is giving a step forward in this direction. From a researcher point of view, the LightCDD booklet facilitates the application of LightCDD to different start-up development cases. The feasibility validation has produced important feedback for further empirical validation exercises in which is necessary to study the scalability and sensitivity of LightCDD.
Capability-Driven Design of Business Service Ecosystem to Support Risk Governance in Regulatory Ecosystems
Authors: Feltus Christophe , Grandry Eric , Fontaine François-Xavier
Published: April 2017

Risk-based regulation and risk governance gain momentum in most sectorial ecosystems, should they be the finance, the healthcare or the telecommunications ecosystems. Although there is a profusion of tools to address this issue at the corporate level, worth is to note that no solution fulfils this function at the ecosystem level yet. Therefore, in this article, the Business Service Ecosystem (BSE) metamodel is semantically extended, considering the Capability as a Service (CaaS) theory, in order to raise the enterprise risk management from the enterprise level up to the ecosystem level. This extension allows defining a concrete ecosystem metamodel which is afterwards mapped with an information system risk management model to support risk governance at the ecosystem level. This mapping is illustrated and validated on the basis of an application case for the Luxembourgish financial sector applied to the most important concepts from the BSE: capability, resource, service and goal.
Insight into the evolution of microbial metabolism from the deep-branching bacterium, Thermovibrio ammonificans
Authors: Giovannelli Donato , Sievert Stefan M , Hügler Michael , Markert Stephanie , Becher Dörte , Schweder Thomas , Vetriani Costantino
Published: April 2017

Anaerobic thermophiles inhabit relic environments that resemble the early Earth. However, the lineage of these modern organisms co-evolved with our planet. Hence, these organisms carry both ancestral and acquired genes and serve as models to reconstruct early metabolism. Based on comparative genomic and proteomic analyses, we identified two distinct groups of genes in Thermovibrio ammonificans: the first codes for enzymes that do not require oxygen and use substrates of geothermal origin; the second appears to be a more recent acquisition, and may reflect adaptations to cope with the rise of oxygen on Earth. We propose that the ancestor of the Aquificae was originally a hydrogen oxidizing, sulfur reducing bacterium that used a hybrid pathway for CO2 fixation. With the gradual rise of oxygen in the atmosphere, more efficient terminal electron acceptors became available and this lineage acquired genes that increased its metabolic flexibility while retaining ancestral metabolic traits.
sRNA-mediated activation of gene expression by inhibition of 5'-3’ exonucleolytic mRNA degradation
Authors: Durand Sylvain , Braun Frédérique , Helfer Anne-Catherine , Romby Pascale , Condon Ciarán
Published: April 2017

Post-transcriptional control by small regulatory RNA (sRNA) is critical for rapid adaptive processes. sRNAs can directly modulate mRNA degradation in Proteobacteria without interfering with translation. However, Firmicutes have a fundamentally different set of ribonucleases for mRNA degradation and whether sRNAs can regulate the activity of these enzymes is an open question. We show that Bacillus subtilis RoxS, a major trans-acting sRNA shared with Staphylococus aureus, prevents degradation of the yflS mRNA, encoding a malate transporter. In the presence of malate, RoxS transiently escapes from repression by the NADH-sensitive transcription factor Rex and binds to the extreme 5’-end of yflS mRNA. This impairs the 5’-3’ exoribonuclease activity of RNase J1, increasing the half-life of the primary transcript and concomitantly enhancing ribosome binding to increase expression of the transporter. Globally, the different targets regulated by RoxS suggest that it helps readjust the cellular NAD+/NADH balance when perturbed by different stimuli.
Occupational Control on Drift—National and Local Intervention in Clinical Work at Emergency Departments
Authors: Bejerot Eva , Gustavsson Maria , Hasselbladh Hans , Kankkunen Tina Forsberg , Ekberg Kerstin
Published: April 2017

In Swedish emergency departments, various initiatives have been introduced in order to reduce long waiting times for patients: lean methods, targets for waiting times related to revenues, interprofessional teams, and different forms of triage systems. This study focuses on the physicians’ views on dilemmas related to these interventions. The study is based on the interviews with 14 physicians in four emergency departments. The interviews have been analysed thematically and presented in the form of brief narratives. The study follows changes from clinical practice to national policy level. The changes appear to be ineffective or counterproductive—waiting times are rather getting longer, but the measures have a number of other effects. Decisions are taken at a central level and are carried out by means of rules, incentives, and projects and end in the medical profession being displaced from the central position they have held in the working processes of health care.
Species-specific audio detection: a comparison of three template-based detection algorithms using random forests
Authors: Corrada Bravo Carlos J. , Álvarez Berríos Rafael , Aide T. Mitchell
Published: April 2017

We developed a web-based cloud-hosted system that allow users to archive, listen, visualize, and annotate recordings. The system also provides tools to convert these annotations into datasets that can be used to train a computer to detect the presence or absence of a species. The algorithm used by the system was selected after comparing the accuracy and efficiency of three variants of a template-based detection. The algorithm computes a similarity vector by comparing a template of a species call with time increments across the spectrogram. Statistical features are extracted from this vector and used as input for a Random Forest classifier that predicts presence or absence of the species in the recording. The fastest algorithm variant had the highest average accuracy and specificity; therefore, it was implemented in the ARBIMON web-based system.
Hemodynamics as Measured With Color Doppler Sonography in Early‐Stage Obesity‐Related Nephropathy in Children
Authors: He Xuehua , Guan Buyun , Zhu Liling
Published: April 2017

Objectives

We retrospectively studied hemodynamic changes in the interlobar artery to assess the clinical value of color Doppler sonography for detecting preclinical obesity‐related nephropathy.

Methods

Color Doppler renal sonography was performed in 52 children with obesity‐related nephropathy and 51 control children with simple obesity. The interlobar artery resistive index (RI) was measured and compared with clinical data and laboratory indicators.

Results

The left RI (mean ± SD, 0.65 ± 0.05 versus 0.60 ± 0.08; t = 3.85), right RI (0.64 ± 0.03 versus 0.59 ± 0.02; t = 10.00), and mean RI (0.64 ± 0.05 versus 0.59 ± 0.06; t = 5.00) revealed large statistically significant increases in the obesity‐related nephropathy group (all P < .01). In the obesity‐related nephropathy group, a positive correlation was found between the mean RI and 24‐hour urine trace albumin (r = 0.47; P < .01), triglycerides (r = 0.98; P < .01), and body mass index (r = 0.28; P < .05). The 24‐hour urine trace albumin and triglycerides were higher in the obesity‐related nephropathy group than the control group (P < .05). In the control group, a mild positive correlation was also found between the mean RI and body mass index (r = 0.24; P < .05).

Conclusions

Color Doppler sonography successfully indicated renal hemodynamic changes and has diagnostic value for early‐stage obesity‐related nephropathy.
Magnetically controlled density structures in the topside layer of the Martian ionosphere
Authors: Venkateswara Rao N. , Mohanamanasa P. , Rao S. V. B.
Published: April 2017

Magnetically controlled density structures in the main layer of the Martian ionosphere are regularly detected by the Mars Advance Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounder (MARSIS) on board the Mars Express spacecraft when it passes over the regions of strong crustal magnetic fields. These structures appear as oblique echoes in an ionogram and as hyperbola‐shaped feature in a radargram. For the first time, we observed such oblique echoes from the topside layer of the Martian ionosphere. Comparison with a crustal magnetic field model suggests that these echoes mostly occur in regions close to magnetic field anomalies. The MARSIS ionograms that show these oblique echoes are limited in number. One reason for such limited occurrence is the fact that these echoes occur at the low‐frequency end of an ionogram where local plasma frequency lines and electron‐cyclotron lines make it difficult to discern these echoes. In one case, however, we observed the topside layer with oblique echoes on several continuous ionograms and a hyperbola‐shaped feature on a radargram. The apex of the hyperbola falls in the region of vertical magnetic fields. Unlike the main layer, the recurrent occurrence of the topside layer at the same location is not common. More importantly, the oblique echoes from the topside layer are always associated with those from the main layer of the ionosphere, but not vice versa. The simultaneous observation of oblique echoes from the main and topside layers is explained by considering the formation of ionization bulges at the respective layer altitudes.
Coastal‐trapped behavior of the diurnal internal tide at O'ahu, Hawai'i
Authors: Smith Katharine A. , Merrifield Mark A. , Carter Glenn S.
Published: April 2017

The influence of rotation on the structure and propagation of internal tides around O'ahu, Hawai'i is investigated using in situ observations and a tidally forced, primitive equation model with realistic bathymetry and stratification. Particular attention is given to the diurnal internal tide, which largely has been de‐emphasized in previous studies of the region because of the dominance of the semidiurnal internal tide but has been determined by recent studies to be a significant contributor to baroclinic variability. Though both diurnal and semidiurnal internal tides are generated primarily over Ka'ena Ridge to the northwest of the island, the diurnal internal tide propagates clockwise around the island as an imperfectly trapped wave, while the semidiurnal internal tide propagates away from the ridge, unaffected by rotation. The diurnal and semidiurnal internal tides fall into the superinertial frequency range; however, the diurnal frequency apparently is sufficiently close to inertial (∼ 1.4f) for rotation to affect internal tide propagation. The in situ observations support the model finding that diurnal trapping provides the primary source of baroclinic variability along the eastern coast of the island, a stretch of coastline otherwise sheltered from the internal tide energy generated over the Hawaiian Ridge. The findings in Hawai'i suggest that coastal trapping of superinertial internal tides may be a significant source of variability and mixing in other nearshore systems around the world.
Uncertainties in TRMM‐Era multisatellite‐based tropical rainfall estimates over the Maritime Continent
Authors: Rauniyar S. P. , Protat A. , Kanamori H.
Published: April 2017

This study investigates the regional and seasonal rainfall rate retrieval uncertainties within nine state‐of‐the‐art satellite‐based rainfall products over the Maritime Continent (MC) region. The results show consistently larger differences in mean daily rainfall among products over land, especially over mountains and along coasts, compared to over ocean, by about 20% for low to medium rain rates and 5% for heavy rain rates. However, rainfall differences among the products do not exhibit any seasonal dependency over both surface types (land and ocean) of the MC region. The differences between products largely depends on the rain rate itself, with a factor 2 difference for light rain and 30% for intermediate and high rain rates over ocean. The rain‐rate products dominated by microwave measurements showed less spread among themselves over ocean compared to the products dominated by infrared measurements. Conversely, over land, the rain gauge‐adjusted post–real‐time products dominated by microwave measurements produced the largest spreads, due to the usage of different gauge analyses for the bias corrections. Intercomparisons of rainfall characteristics of these products revealed large discrepancies in detecting the frequency and intensity of rainfall. These satellite products are finally evaluated at subdaily, daily, monthly, intraseasonal, and seasonal temporal scales against high‐quality gridded rainfall observations in the Sarawak (Malaysia) region for the 4 year period 2000–2003. No single satellite‐based rainfall product clearly outperforms the other products at all temporal scales. General guidelines are provided for selecting a product that could be best suited for a particular application and/or temporal resolution.
Seasonally derived components of the Canada Basin halocline
Authors: Timmermans Mary‐Louise , Marshall John , Proshutinsky Andrey , Scott Jeffery
Published: April 2017

The Arctic halocline stratification is an important barrier to the transport of deep ocean heat to the underside of sea ice. Surface water in the Chukchi Sea, warmed in summer by solar radiation, ventilates the Canada Basin halocline to create a warm layer below the mixed‐layer base. The year‐round persistence of this layer is shown to be consistent with the seasonal cycle of halocline ventilation. We present hydrographic observations and model results to show how Chukchi Sea density outcrops migrate seasonally as surface fluxes modify salinity and temperature. This migration is such that in winter, isopycnals bounding the warm halocline are blocked from ventilation, while the cool, relatively salty and deeper halocline layers are ventilated. In this way, the warm halocline is isolated by stratification (both vertically and laterally) each winter. Results shed light on the fate and impact to sea ice of the warm halocline under future freshening and warming of the surface Arctic Ocean.
Vegetation as a driver of temporal variations in slope stability: The impact of hydrological processes
Authors: Kim John H. , Fourcaud Thierry , Jourdan Christophe , Maeght Jean‐Luc , Mao Zhun , Metayer James , Meylan Louise , Pierret Alain , Rapidel Bruno , Roupsard Olivier , de Rouw Anneke , Sanchez Mario Villatoro , Wang Yan , Stokes Alexia
Published: April 2017

Although vegetation is increasingly used to mitigate landslide risks, how vegetation affects the temporal variability of slope stability is poorly understood, especially in earthquake‐prone regions. We combined 3‐year long soil moisture monitoring, measurements of soil physical properties and plant functional traits, and numerical modeling to compare slope stability under paired land uses with and without trees in tropical, subtropical, and temperate landslide‐ and earthquake‐prone regions. Trees improved stability for 5–12 months per year from drawdown of soil moisture and resulted in less interannual variability in the duration of high‐stability periods compared to slopes without trees. Our meta‐analysis of published data also showed that slopes with woody vegetation were more stable and less sensitive to climate and soil factors than slopes with herbaceous vegetation. However, estimates of earthquake magnitude necessary to destabilize slopes at our sites suggest that large additional stabilization from trees is necessary for meaningful protection against external triggers.
A simple diagnostic for the detection of atmospheric fronts
Authors: Parfitt Rhys , Czaja Arnaud , Seo Hyodae
Published: April 2017

In this article, a simple diagnostic to identify atmospheric fronts objectively from gridded data sets is presented. For this diagnostic, fronts are identified as regions where the normalized product of the isobaric relative vorticity and horizontal temperature gradient exceeds a threshold value. The purpose is to introduce a method that is both robust and particularly straightforward in calculation. A climatology of atmospheric fronts, as well as the identification of an individual frontal system, is computed using this diagnostic. These are subsequently compared to a more traditional frontal detection method and the similarities and differences discussed.
Tropical cyclone fullness: A new concept for interpreting storm intensity
Authors: Guo Xi , Tan Zhe‐Min
Published: April 2017

Intensity and size are two crucial factors in determining the destructiveness of a tropical cyclone (TC), but little is known about the relationship between them because of a lack of observations. TC fullness, a new concept, is proposed to quantitatively measure the storm wind structure, which is defined as the ratio of the extent of the outer‐core wind skirt to the outer‐core size of the TC. TC intensity is more strongly correlated with fullness than with other measures comprising just a single size parameter. A scale is introduced to classify TCs into four categories based on TC fullness (FS1 to FS4). Regardless of the specific inner‐core and outer‐core size, the FS4 fullness structure is necessary for an intense TC's development, while category FS1 and FS2 TCs are generally weak. Most major TCs achieve FS4 fullness structure earlier and more frequently than nonmajor TCs. Rapidly increasing fullness favors the intensification of TC.