bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Utilization behavior: Clinical and theoretical approaches
Authors: BESNARD J. , ALLAIN P. , AUBIN G. , OSIURAK F. , CHAUVIRÉ V. , ETCHARRY-BOUYX F. , LE GALL D.
Published: March 2010

Lhermitte (1983) coined the term “utilization behavior” (UB) to define a neurobehavioral syndrome in which the visuo-tactile presentation of objects compels patients to grasp and use them, despite the fact that they have not been instructed to do so. The author suggested that UB was the consequence of frontal lobe damage. Thereafter, Shallice, Burgess, Schon, and Baxter (1989) questioned Lhermitte’s (1983) procedure for eliciting UB, putting forward an alternative research methodology that led to differentiate two forms of UB: “induced” and “incidental.” To date, there has been no direct comparison between these two procedures, nor have any other methodologies been used to explore this clinical sign, which is related to fundamental concepts such as free will and human autonomy. We investigated UB in 70 subjects (25 patients with frontal lobe lesions, 10 patients with posterior brain damage and 35 control subjects) using the methodologies of Lhermitte (1983) and Shallice et al. (1989), as well as an original “verbal generation” procedure. Our results show that the verbal generation procedure reveals UB efficiently and that elicitation of this sign appears to be directly linked to the content of the task. We discuss the interpretation of UB in terms of an executive control deficit. (JINS, 2010, 16, 453–462.)
Rejecting familiar distracters during recognition in young adults with traumatic brain injury and in healthy older adults
Authors: OZEN LANA J. , SKINNER ERIN I. , FERNANDES MYRA A.
Published: March 2010

The most common cognitive complaint reported by healthy older adults and young adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI) is memory difficulties. We investigated the effects of normal aging and the long-term effects of TBI in young adults on the susceptibility to incorrectly endorse distracter information on a memory test. Prior to a study phase, participants viewed a “pre-exposure” list containing distracter words, presented once or three times, and half of the target study words. Subsequently, during the study phase, all target words were presented such that, across lists, study words were viewed either once or three times. On the recognition test, TBI and older adult participants were more likely to falsely endorse “pre-exposed” distracter words viewed three times as being from the target study list, compared to non-head-injured young controls. Normal aging and head injury in young may similarly compromise one’s ability to reject highly familiar, but distracting, information during recognition. Older adult and TBI participants were also slower to complete the Trail Making task and had poorer output on a Digit Span task, suggesting these two populations share a deficit in executive function and working memory. Similar changes in frontal lobe function may underlie these shared cognitive deficits. (JINS, 2010,16, 556–565.)
A MODEL OF NEAR-RATIONAL EXUBERANCE
Authors: Bullard James , Evans George W. , Honkapohja Seppo
Published: March 2010

We study how the use of judgment or “add-factors” in forecasting may disturb the set of equilibrium outcomes when agents learn by using recursive methods. We isolate conditions under which new phenomena, which we callexuberance equilibria, can exist in a standard self-referential environment. Local indeterminacy is not a requirement for existence. We construct a simple asset-pricing example and find that exuberance equilibria, when they exist, can be extremely volatile relative to fundamental equilibria.
Organizing Womenas Women: Hybridity and Grassroots Collective Action in the 21stCentury
Authors: Goss Kristin A. , Heaney Michael T.
Published: March 2010

The Million Mom March (favoring gun control) and Code Pink: Women for Peace (focusing on foreign policy, especially the war in Iraq) are organizations that have mobilized womenas womenin an era when other women's groups struggled to maintain critical mass and turned away from non-gender-specific public issues. This article addresses how these organizations fostered collective consciousness among women, a large and diverse group, while confronting the echoes of backlash against previous mobilization efforts by women. We argue that the March and Code Pink achieved mobilization success by creating hybrid organizations that blended elements of three major collective action frames: maternalism, egalitarianism, and feminine expression. These innovative organizations invented hybrid forms that cut across movements, constituencies, and political institutions. Using surveys, interviews, and content analysis of organizational documents, this article explains how the March and Code Pink met the contemporary challenges facing women's collective action in similar yet distinct ways. It highlights the role of feminine expression and concerns about the intersectional marginalization of women in resolving the historic tensions between maternalism and egalitarianism. It demonstrates hybridity as a useful analytical lens to understand gendered organizing and other forms of grassroots collective action.
Gender, Diversity, and Organizational Change: The Boy Scouts vs. Girl Scouts of America
Authors: Arneil Barbara
Published: March 2010

After growing for decades, the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts both experienced a dramatic drop in membership during the 1970s. Since then their membership patterns have diverged as the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) continues to decline and the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) has reached near record numbers. These patterns raise two questions: Why the decline? And why the divergence? On the cause of decline, I argue that a younger civil rights generation, informed by a new set of post-materialist values, did not join traditional organizations like the BSA and GSUSA because their values were deemed to be outdated. The challenge for traditional organizations therefore was how to respond. Using path dependency theory, I argue that BSA and GSUSA—shaped by their own unique origins and identities—responded very differently to the critical juncture of the civil rights generation, which in turn explains the subsequent divergence in membership patterns from the 1980s onward. While the BSA rejects such changes in order to defend traditional values, the GSUSA, which established a commitment to challenging gender norms from its birth, embraces the new values and adapts virtually every aspect of its organizational identity to this new generation. As young people see themselves reflected back in the values endorsed by the GSUSA, its membership resurges, while the BSA continues to decline. I conclude by drawing out larger theoretical lessons on the meaning of change in American civil society in light of an increasingly diverse population.
What do Women Really Know? A Gendered Analysis of Varieties of Political Knowledge
Authors: Stolle Dietlind , Gidengil Elisabeth
Published: March 2010

While studies typically find that women know less about politics than do men, feminist scholars have argued that these findings reflect gender-biased measures that underestimate women's political knowledge. This article evaluates the feminist critique by taking a more expansive view of what constitutes political knowledge. Using data from a large Canadian urban sample, we show that gender gaps close or even reverse when people are queried about more practical aspects of political knowledge, such as government benefits and services. Our results also demonstrate that this type of knowledge is more equally distributed than its conventional counterpart, though the women who are the most likely to need government services and benefits are often the least likely to know about them. Finally, we show that knowledge of government services and benefits has a significant effect on women's intended vote choice. This article thus shows that more practical types of political knowledge might serve as meaningful additions to existing definitions and measures of political knowledge.
Staying the Course: Presidential Leadership, Military Stalemate, and Strategic Inertia
Authors: Polsky Andrew J.
Published: March 2010

Military stalemate in Iraq and Vietnam presents a puzzle: why do presidents persist in a strategic course that has failed to secure the goals they defined when they chose to embark upon war? In the face of a quagmire, presidents might choose among three broad strategic options—disengagement, escalation, or continuity. I argue that the first alternative, to withdraw, is made impossible by the inflated rhetoric presidents invoke to sell a skeptical public on the necessity for a limited war and by their own conviction (reinforced by core supporters) that the price of defeat is too great. At the opposite pole lies the possibility of full-scale mobilization. But because presidents during the Vietnam and Iraq wars believed they could also pursue expensive domestic agendas, they did not reserve the resources needed for large-scale escalation. In the both cases, too, civilian leaders were deeply skeptical about their military counterparts and discounted their caution that a greater military commitment would be needed. Finally, as wars drag on, public disenchantment prevents presidents from mustering the political support escalation would require. Their early decisions thus leave them with no alternative to their current strategic commitment.
The Gender Lacuna in Comparative Politics
Authors: Baldez Lisa
Published: March 2010

What accounts for the glaring inattention to work on gender within mainstream political science? Part of the problem lies in the substance of scholarship itself. The concepts, central questions, and key variables that predominate in the mainstream literature on comparative democratization and in the literature on gender and democratization have contributed to the gulf between them. But a more fundamental explanation lies in the starting assumptions of scholars in the two camps. Mainstream scholars rarely question whether gender is relevant to politics, and gender scholars rarely question whether gender isn't relevant to politics. I illustrate some ways in which gender could be incorporated into mainstream work, and discuss how gender research could be made more broadly comparative.
When Do Governments Promote Women's Rights? A Framework for the Comparative Analysis of Sex Equality Policy
Authors: Htun Mala , Weldon S. Laurel
Published: March 2010

This essay proposes a framework to analyze cross-national variation in women's legal rights. To explore the distinct logics of policy change, we disaggregate sex equality policies on two dimensions: 1) whether they improve the status of women as a group or alleviate gender-based class inequalities, and 2) whether or not they challenge the doctrine of organized religion and the codified tradition of major cultural groups. We show that policies promoting gender equality seek fundamental social change and therefore challenge historical patterns of state-society interaction concerning relations between the state and the market; the respective authority of the state, religion, and cultural groups; and the contours of citizenship. Different issues, however, challenge different aspects of these relations. What's more, the priorities, strategies, and effectiveness of advocates and opponents of change (including women's movements, left parties, international NGOs, and organized religion) are shaped by state capacity, policy legacies, international vulnerability, and the degree of democracy.
Choice Feminism and the Fear of Politics
Authors: Ferguson Michaele L.
Published: March 2010

Choice feminism is motivated by a fear of politics. It arises in response to three common criticisms of feminism: that feminism is too radical, too exclusionary, and too judgmental. In response, choice feminism offers a worldview that does not challenge the status quo, that promises to include all women regardless of their choices, and that abstains from judgment altogether. Moreover, it enables feminists to sidestep the difficulties of making the personal political: making judgments and demanding change of friends, family, and lovers. Yet judgment, exclusion, and calls for change are unavoidable parts of politics. If feminists are not to withdraw from political life altogether, we have to acknowledge the difficulty of engaging in politics. Political claims are partial; we will inevitably exclude, offend, or alienate some of those whom we should wish to have as allies. The political concerns and dilemmas to which choice feminism responds are very real. However, we can take seriously the political motivations behind choice feminism without withdrawing from politics. Instead, we need to complement an acknowledgment of the political dilemmas facing feminists with a celebration of the pleasures of engaging in politics with those who differ from and disagree with us.
Primordial Nucleosynthesis After WMAP
Authors: Steigman Gary
Published: March 2010

During its early evolution, the hot, dense Universe provided a laboratory for probing fundamental physics at high energies. By studying the relics from those early epochs, such as the light elements synthesized during primordial nucleosynthesis when the Universe was only a few minutes old, and the relic, cosmic microwave photons, last scattered when the protons, alphas, and electrons (re)combined some 400 thousand years later, the evolution of the Universe may be used to test the standard models of cosmology and particle physics and to set constraints on proposals of physics beyond these standard models.
6Li in metal-poor halo stars: real or spurious?
Authors: Steffen M. , Cayrel R. , Bonifacio P. , Ludwig H.-G. , Caffau E.
Published: March 2010

The presence of convective motions in the atmospheres of metal-poor halo stars leads to systematic asymmetries of the emergent spectral line profiles. Since such line asymmetries are very small, they can be safely ignored for standard spectroscopic abundance analysis. However, when it comes to the determination of the 6Li/7Li isotopic ratio, q(Li)=n(6Li)/n(7Li), the intrinsic asymmetry of the 7Li line must be taken into account, because its signature is essentially indistinguishable from the presence of a weak 6Li blend in the red wing of the 7Li line. In this contribution we quantity the error of the inferred 6Li/7Li isotopic ratio that arises if the convective line asymmetry is ignored in the fitting of the λ6707 Å lithium blend. Our conclusion is that 6Li/7Li ratios derived by Asplund et al. (2006), using symmetric line profiles, must be reduced by typically Δq(Li) ≈ 0.015. This diminishes the number of certain 6Li detections from 9 to 4 stars or less, casting some doubt on the existence of a 6Li plateau.
Nucleosynthesis of the Elements in Faint Supernovae and Hypernovae
Authors: Nomoto Ken'ichi , Moriya Takashi , Tominaga Nozomu
Published: March 2010

We review the properties of supernovae (SNe) as a function of the progenitor's massM. (1)Mup- 10M⊙stars are super-AGB stars and resultant electron capture SNe may be Faint supernovae like Type IIn SN 2008S. (2) 10 - 12M⊙stars undergo Fe-core collapse to form neutron stars (NSs) and Faint supernovae. (3) 12M⊙-MBNstars undergo Fe-core collapse to form NSs and normal core-collapse supernovae. (4)MBN- 90M⊙stars undergo Fe-core collapse to form Black Holes. Resultant supernovae are bifurcate into Hypernovae and Faint supernovae. The observed properties of SN 2008ha can be explained with this type of Faint supernovae. (5) 90 - 140M⊙stars produce Luminous SNe, like SNe 2007bi and 2006gy. (6) 140 - 300M⊙stars become pair-instability supernovae which could be Luminous supernovae (SNe 2007bi and 2006gy). (7) Very massive stars withM≳ 300M⊙undergo core-collapse to form intermediate mass black holes. Some SNe could be more Luminous supernovae (like SN 2006gy).
Carbon-Enhanced Metal-Poor (CEMP) stars
Authors: Aoki Wako
Published: March 2010

A significant fraction of metal-poor stars have large over-abundances of carbon, and are called Carbon-Enhanced Metal-Poor (CEMP) stars. Most of CEMP stars also show excesses of heavy neutron-capture elements like Ba, indicating that their origin is the nucleosynthesis in AGB stars. Remaining CEMP stars that have Ba abundances as low as non-carbon-rich stars appear in the lowest metallicity range ([Fe/H]≲−2.5), and connections with the two most iron-deficient stars (so-called Hyper Metal-Poor stars) are suggested. Although the origins of the carbon-excesses in these objects have not been well identified, some objects suggest contributions of faint supernovae. Remaining problems on CEMP stars, such as the binary fraction, excess of r-process elements, are discussed.
Carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars as probes of early Galactic nucleosynthesis
Authors: Pols O. R. , Izzard R. G. , Glebbeek E. , Stancliffe R. J.
Published: March 2010

A large fraction, between 10 and 25%, of very metal-poor stars in the Galactic halo are carbon-rich objects, with enhancements of carbon relative to iron exceeding a factor 10. The majority of these carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars show enhancements of heavy s-process elements and have been found to be spectroscopic binary systems. Many of their properties are well explained by the binary mass transfer scenario, in which a former asymptotic giant branch (AGB) companion star has polluted the low-mass star with its nucleosynthesis products. The same scenario predicts the existence of nitrogen-rich metal-poor (NEMP) stars, with [N/C] > 0.5, from AGB companions more massive than about 3 solar masses. In contrast to CEMP stars, however, such NEMP stars are very rare. Recent studies suggest that the high frequency of CEMP stars requires a modified initial mass function (IMF) in the early Galaxy, weighted towards intermediate-mass stars. Such models also implicitly predict a large number of NEMP stars which is not seen.
s/r ratios in carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars
Authors: Allen Dinah M. , Ryan Sean G. , Rossi Silvia , Tsangarides Stelios A.
Published: March 2010

We present the results of [Ba/Eu] ratio determinations for a sample of Carbon-Enhanced Metal Poor (CEMP) stars, comparing them with other CEMP stars found in the literature for which abundances for both elements are available. The stellar spectra were observed at 4.2m William Herschel Telescope (WHT) on July/2003, using Utrecht Echelle Spectrograph (UES) with R ~ 52000 and S/N ~ 40. WHT covers a wavelength range of λλ3700-5700.
EMP stars with high mass IMF and hierarchical galaxy formation
Authors: Komiya Yutaka , Suda Takuma , Habe Asao , Fujimoto Masayuki Y.
Published: March 2010

Extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars in the Galactic halo are stars formed in the very early stage of the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. In previous study, we proposed that typical mass of EMP stars are massive, based on observations of carbon-enhanced EMP stars. In this study, we build a merger tree of the Galaxy semi-analytically and follow the chemical evolution along the merger tree. We also consider the effect of binary and high-mass initial mass function(IMF). Resultant theoretical metallicity distribution function (MDF) and abundance distribution are compared with observed metal-poor halo stars.
Thermohaline mixing in stars and the long-standing 3He problem
Authors: Charbonnel Corinne , Lagarde Nadège
Published: March 2010

Thermohaline mixing has been recently identified as the dominating process that governs the photospheric composition of low-mass bright giant stars (Charbonnel & Zahn 2007). Here we present the predictions of stellar models computed with the code STAREVOL taking into account this mechanism together with rotational mixing and atomic diffusion. We compare our theorical predictions with recent observations and discuss how the corresponding yields for 3He are compatible with the observed behaviour of this light element in our Galaxy.
The Stellar Population of the Galactic Bulge
Authors: Zoccali M.
Published: March 2010

The Galactic bulge is the central spheroid of our Galaxy, containing about one quarter of the total stellar mass of the Milky Way (Mbulge= 1.8 × 1010M⊙; Sofue, Honma & Omodaka 2009). Being older than the disk, it is the first massive component of the Galaxy to have collapsed into stars. Understanding its structure, and the properties of its stellar population, is therefore of great relevance for galaxy formation models. I will review our current knowledge of the bulge properties, with special emphasis on chemical abundances, recently measured for several hundred stars.
Chemical Composition of the Galactic Bulge in Baade's Window
Authors: McWilliam Andrew , Fulbright Jon , Rich R. Michael
Published: March 2010

1. McWilliam and Zoccali (2009) show the existence of two Red Clump populations towards the Galactic bulge, based on 2MASS data. 2.Measured [Mg/Fe], [Al/Fe], and [La/Eu] ratios in the bulge are consistent with a rapid formation timescale (<1Gyr), which also requires a slightly top-heavy IMF to reproduce the mean bulge metallicity. The [C/O] and [O/Fe] ratios are consistent if their predicted metal-dependent yields from massive stars with winds are considered. The decline in explosive [α/Fe] (Si, Ca, and Ti) can only be understood if their yields also decline with metallicity above [Fe/H]~−1.
The Stellar Population of the Thin Disk
Authors: Prieto Carlos Allende
Published: March 2010

We discuss recent observations of stars located close to the symmetry plane of the Milky Way, and examine them in the context of theories of Galaxy formation and evolution. The kinematics, ages, and compositions of thin disk stars in the solar neighborhood display complex patterns, and interesting correlations. The Galactic disk does not seem to pose any unsurmountable obstacles to hierarchical galaxy formation theories, but a model of the Milky Way able to reproduce the complexity found in the data will likely require a meticulous study of a significant fraction of the stars in the Galaxy. Making such an observational effort seems necessary in order to make a physics laboratory out of our own galaxy, and ultimately ensure that the most relevant processes are properly understood.
Metallicity gradients in the Milky Way
Authors: Maciel Walter J. , Costa Roberto D. D.
Published: March 2010

Radial metallicity gradients are observed in the disks of the Milky Way and in several other spiral galaxies. In the case of the Milky Way, many objects can be used to determine the gradients, such as HII regions, B stars, Cepheids, open clusters and planetary nebulae. Several elements can be studied, such as oxygen, sulphur, neon, and argon in photoionized nebulae, and iron and other elements in cepheids, open clusters and stars. As a consequence, the number of observational characteristics inferred from the study of abundance gradients is very large, so that in the past few years they have become one of the main observational constraints of chemical evolution models. In this paper, we present some recent observational evidences of abundance gradients based on several classes of objects. We will focus on (i) the magnitude of the gradients, (ii) the space variations, and (iii) the evidences of a time variation of the abundance gradients. Some comments on recent theoretical models are also given, in an effort to highlight their predictions concerning abundance gradients and their variations.
Elemental abundances in the Galactic bulge from microlensed dwarf stars
Authors: Bensby T. , Feltzing S. , Johnson J. A. , Gould A. , Sana H. , Gal-Yam A. , Asplund M. , Lucatello S. , Melendez J. , Udalski A. , Kubas D. , James G. , Adén D. , Simmerer J.
Published: March 2010

We present elemental abundances of 13 microlensed dwarf and subgiant stars in the Galactic bulge, which constitute the largest sample to date. We show that these stars span the full range of metallicity from Fe/H= −0.8 to +0.4, and that they follow well-defined abundance trends, coincident with those of the Galactic thick disc.
Detailed Chemical Abundances in a Metal-Poor Stellar Stream
Authors: Roederer Ian U. , Sneden Christopher , Thompson Ian B. , Preston George W. , Shectman Stephen A.
Published: March 2010

We have observed 9 bright metal-poor stars whose kinematics suggest they are members of a stellar stream in the vicinity of the Solar neighborhood. These 9 stars exhibit no star-to-star dispersion in their [X/Fe] ratios for the α and Fe-peak elements, and the neutron-capture elements suggest mild enrichment by the main r-process. The abundance patterns seen in this stream are very similar to those found in the metal-poor globular cluster M15, and the kinematics of M15 are similar to those of the stream, suggesting that these two groups of stars may have shared a common origin.
The Chemo-Dynamical History of the Milky Way as Revealed by SDSS/SEGUE
Authors: Beers Timothy C.
Published: March 2010

Although originally conceived as primarily an extragalactic survey, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-I), and its extensions SDSS-II and SDSS-III, continue to have a major impact on our understanding of the formation and evolution of our host galaxy, the Milky Way. The sub-survey SEGUE: Sloan Extension for Galactic Exploration and Understanding, excuted as part of SDSS-II, obtained some 3500 square degrees of additional ugriz imaging, mostly at lower Galactic latitudes, in order to better sample the disk systems of the Galaxy. Most importantly, it obtained over 240,000 medium-resolution spectra for stars selected to sample Galactocentric distances from 0.5 to 100 kpc. In combination with stellar targets from SDSS-I, and the recently completed SEGUE-2 program, executed as part of SDSS-III, the total sample of SDSS spectroscopy for Galactic stars comprises some 500,000 objects.

The development of the SEGUE Stellar Parameter Pipeline has enabled the determination of accurate atmospheric parameter estimates for a large fraction of these stars. Many of the stars in this data set within 5 kpc of the Sun have sufficiently well-measured proper motions to determine their full space motions, permitting examination of the nature of much more distant populations represented by members that are presently passing through the solar neighborhood. Ongoing analyses of these data are being used to draw a much clearer picture of the nature of our galaxy, and to supply targets for detailed high-resolution spectrscopic follow-up with the world's largest telescopes. Here we discuss a few highlights of recently completed and ongoing investigations with these data.
Retardiertes Hydromorphon bei viszeralen, somatischen und neuropathischen Schmerzen
Authors: Alon  , Cachin
Published: March 2010

Ziel dieser multizentrischen longitudinalen Untersuchung war es, das Wirksamkeits- und Verträglichkeitsprofil von retardiertem Hydromorphon bei Patienten mit starken viszeralen, somatischen oder neuropathischen Schmerzen unter Praxisbedingungen zu dokumentieren. Dazu wurde eine prospektive Anwendungsbeobachtung in 57 Zentren mit insgesamt 196 Patienten in der Schweiz veranlasst. Nach durchschnittlich 43 Tagen der Behandlung mit retardiertem Hydromorphon nahm die Intensität der momentanen Schmerzen um 48.5% und die der maximalen Schmerzen um 41.3% ab, wobei die Wirksamkeit der Therapie bei viszeralen und somatischen Schmerzen am ausgeprägtesten war. Parallel dazu ging die Prävalenz der schmerzbedingten Schlafstörungen von anfangs 86.7% auf 21.0% zurück. Retardiertes Hydromorphon war in diesem Kollektiv von betagten (Durchschnittsalter 70.6 Jahre), multimorbiden und polytherapierten (im Durchschnitt 2.4 Medikamente zusätzlich zur Schmerzmedikation) Schmerzpatienten auch in der freiwilligen Langzeitextension bis zu 96 Tagen hervorragend verträglich. Es wurden keine medikamentösen Interaktionen gemeldet. Sechs und dreizehn Wochen nach Einleitung der Therapie nahmen immer noch 89.8% respektive 85.2% retardiertes Hydromorphon. Retardiertes Hydromorphon ist eine empfehlenswerte Therapieoption in der Praxis bei starken und stärksten Schmerzen unterschiedlichster Genese.
Fault geometry and distribution of asperities of the 1997 Manyi, China (Mw = 7.5), earthquake: Integrated analysis from seismological and InSAR data
Authors: Wen Yi‐Ying , Ma Kuo‐Fong
Published: March 2010

The integration of seismic and InSAR interferogram data allows us to have a comprehensive understanding of the earthquake fault geometry and distribution of asperities for a remote event, namely the 1997 Manyi, China earthquake. We first obtained the slip distribution from teleseismic stations for several fault models, and then made synthetic interferograms in order to determine the optimum fault geometry. Our results show that the 1997 Manyi earthquake ruptured bilaterally with two segments dipping north and south for the western and eastern segments, respectively. The south dip of the eastern segment is essential for a better interpretation of the stations near the nodal plane, and a reversal of dip between the west and east segment is necessary to explain the pattern of observed InSAR interferograms due to the broader distribution of asperities. The fault rupture extended 170 km with maximum displacement of 6.1 m, and a total seismic moment of 2.24*1020 Nm (Mw = 7.5).
Three‐dimensional imaging of upward positive leaders in triggered lightning using VHF broadband digital interferometers
Authors: Yoshida S. , Biagi C. J. , Rakov V. A. , Hill J. D. , Stapleton M. V. , Jordan D. M. , Uman M. A. , Morimoto T. , Ushio T. , Kawasaki Z.‐I.
Published: March 2010

Upward positive leaders (UPLs) in two artificially‐initiated lightning flashes were imaged in three dimensions using VHF broadband digital interferometers and a high‐speed video camera with time‐synchronized channel‐base current measurements. Locatable VHF sources of the two UPLs began at 1.1 km and 1.5 km, a few milliseconds after the UPL inception, and ascended to 2.4 km and 3.7 km, respectively, with average 3‐D speeds on the order of 106 ms−1. The initial stage currents for both flashes were unusually large and had peak values of 6 kA and 18 kA. VHF sources associated with positive leader propagation were located when the average current was higher than 3 kA and had significant pulse activity. The source altitudes and channel‐base currents suggest that there might have been a region of significant negative charge at altitudes from 2 to 4 km, which is below the freezing level of typical thunderstorms in Florida.
Regional distribution of deep clouds and cloud top altitudes over the Indian subcontinent and the surrounding oceans
Authors: Meenu S. , Rajeev K. , Parameswaran K. , Nair Anish Kumar M.
Published: March 2010

The Bay of Bengal (BoB) and the east equatorial Indian Ocean are among the most intense deep convective regions over the tropics. Long‐term monthly mean distributions of deep clouds and the regional differences in the cloud top brightness temperature (CTBT) over the Indian subcontinent and the surrounding oceanic regions (the northern and eastern BoB, the southeast Arabian Sea, and the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean) are derived using National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer data for a period of 10 years and are compared with the direct observations of cloud top altitude (CTA) using Cloud‐Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO). The deepest clouds are found to occur over the northern BoB (NBoB) during the June–August period. The most probable CTBT in this region is ∼12 K lower than that over the other deep convective regions. CALIPSO observations also show that the frequency of occurrence of CTA peaks at an altitude of ∼16.5 km over the NBoB, which is ∼1 km higher than that over the other regions. Strong convergence of horizontal wind between the surface and ∼200 hpa level and large divergence above, combined with the most favorable sea surface temperature (>28°C), might be mainly responsible for the highest CTA being observed over the NBoB. The annual variation of the base altitude and thickness of the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) and the upper tropospheric temperature are closely associated with the corresponding variations in the deep cloud fraction. Considerable fraction of deep clouds occurs within the TTL over the BoB during the June–August period.
Transient climate simulations from the Maunder Minimum to present day: Role of the stratosphere
Authors: Spangehl T. , Cubasch U. , Raible C. C. , Schimanke S. , Körper J. , Hofer D.
Published: March 2010

Transient climate simulations are performed covering the period from 1630 to 2000. A vertically extended version of a coupled atmosphere‐ocean general circulation model is used, including a detailed representation of the stratosphere. One simulation is driven by changes in total solar irradiance due to solar activity as well as volcanic eruptions and changes in greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations. A second simulation additionally includes changes in short‐wave heating due to prescribed photochemical changes in ozone. The simulations are compared with reconstructions and other simulations employing less resolved stratosphere. The inclusion of the higher resolved stratosphere plays only a moderate role for the simulated climate variability on the hemispheric scale. Larger implications are found for regional scales. Both simulations reveal a shift of the North Atlantic Oscillation toward a more positive phase from the Maunder Minimum to present day, mainly attributed to anthropogenic increase in concentration of well‐mixed GHG. Increase in GHG is related to a more disturbed stratospheric polar vortex resulting in an only moderate strengthening of tropospheric westerlies over Europe compared with the tropospheric version of the model. On multidecadal to centennial time scales the stratospheric solar forcing substantially contributes to the climate change signal in the stratosphere, and there is clear evidence for an impact on the tropospheric circulation.
Precursors of the El Niño/La Niña onset and their interrelationship
Authors: Kug Jong‐Seong , Sooraj K.‐P. , Li Tim , Jin Fei‐Fei
Published: March 2010

In this study, the equatorial sea level, western Pacific zonal wind, and high‐frequency (2∼90 day) wind variability are investigated as precursors of the onset of El Niño/La Niña. To a large extent, it is shown that each variable is a good indicator of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) onset by exhibiting significant correlation to the ENSO index with 9 month lag. However, it is demonstrated here that the three precursors are remarkably correlated with each other. Based on the statistical analysis, we suggest here that the three precursors are governed by strong coupling processes: (1) scale interaction within the atmosphere between the low‐frequency (LF, i.e., interannual) and high‐frequency (HF, i.e., intraseasonal) winds and (2) positive air‐sea coupled feedback among the western Pacific westerly, SST, and zonal mean thermocline. Our observational analysis and statistical prediction experiments suggest that the three precursors are not independent and they reflect the different aspects of the same coupling process during the ENSO onset phase.
Continental and local climatic influences on hydrology of eucalypt‐Nothofagus ecosystems revealed by δ2H, δ13C, and δ18O of ecosystem samples
Authors: Pfautsch Sebastian , Gessler Arthur , Rennenberg Heinz , Weston Christopher J. , Adams Mark A.
Published: March 2010

Marrying knowledge of variation in large‐scale climatic parameters such as rainfall and evaporation to physiological ecology has long been argued as a powerful approach to advancing understanding of hydrology of catchments. Widely used hydrological models for assessing water yield depend on key plant attributes such as whether or not plant water use is coupled to atmospheric and/or soil water status. We analyzed δ2H and δ18O signatures of long‐term rainwater collections from coastal sites near Melbourne, Australia, and in northwest Tasmania and compared them with their counterparts in rainwater, stream water, soil water, and twig water data collected over a 2 year period from south facing Eucalyptus‐Nothofagus forests in the Cement Creek catchment of Mt. Donna Buang, about 70 km east of the city of Melbourne. Within the catchment, progressive evaporative enrichment among rain, soil, and twig water accounted for observed δ2H and δ18O signatures. We observed a major shift in both δ2H and δ18O signatures of rain and stream water between 2001/2002 and 2003. The shift was likely due to changes in atmospheric conditions and especially relative contributions to rainwater from oceanic and continental sources. Our plant isotope data argue strongly that radiation, not water, is a primary limitation for Nothofagus on Mt. Donna Buang. The δ18O and δ13C signatures of foliage varied with season and with topography. For the wettest and driest years in the 1978–2000 record, strong and consistent altitudinal gradients in δ13C of tree rings had a slope of between 4‰ and 5‰ km−1 of altitude. Our data highlight the importance of background (e.g., rainfall and atmospheric CO2) isotope data to interpretation of plant isotope data. Taken together with the literature, our isotope data lead us to conclude that (1) in periods of close to average rainfall, the observed meteoric water line at Mt. Donna Buang and at other stations in southeast Australia departs strongly in slope and intercept to that observed for rainfall collected within reasonable proximity of oceans worldwide, due mainly to contributions of rainfall that originate in airstreams from the far northwest of the Australian continent (the Indian Ocean) and (2) in drought periods, the failure of such continentally influenced rainfall ensures local meteoric water lines exactly match those recorded elsewhere for near‐coastal regions. Finally, the hydrologic behavior of eucalypt forests varies strongly, from typically water‐limited conditions that require more complex modeling (i.e., including a significant climatic influence on plant water use), to areas where stomatal conductance, and hence transpiration, is not constrained by water availability, and modeling may be more simply based.
On the effect of a new grand minimum of solar activity on the future climate on Earth
Authors: Feulner Georg , Rahmstorf Stefan
Published: March 2010

The current exceptionally long minimum of solar activity has led to the suggestion that the Sun might experience a new grand minimum in the next decades, a prolonged period of low activity similar to the Maunder minimum in the late 17th century. The Maunder minimum is connected to the Little Ice Age, a time of markedly lower temperatures, in particular in the Northern hemisphere. Here we use a coupled climate model to explore the effect of a 21st‐century grand minimum on future global temperatures, finding a moderate temperature offset of no more than −0.3°C in the year 2100 relative to a scenario with solar activity similar to recent decades. This temperature decrease is much smaller than the warming expected from anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the century.
COMBODY: one‐domain antibody multimer with improved avidity
Authors: Zhu Xuekai , Wang Lei , Liu Rongzhi , Flutter Barry , Li Shenghua , Ding Jie , Tao Hua , Liu Changzhen , Sun Meiyi , Gao Bin
Published: March 2010

Antibodies (Abs) have been engineered into small antigen‐binding fragments and rebuilt into multivalent high‐avidity molecules for improving in vivo pharmacokinetics and efficacy in clinical use. To increase the avidity of a T‐cell receptor‐like single‐domain Ab (sdAb) specific for HLA‐A2 complex, we fused the sdAb to a coiled‐coil peptide derived from human cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP48) to make an sdAb multimer, termed combody. The combody improved the binding avidity of sdAb significantly, whereas the specificity for the targeted cells was retained. The strategy was also expanded to create a bispecific combody by fusing an sdAb to the N‐terminal and an anti‐CD3 single‐chain variable fragment to the C‐terminal of COMP48. The dual‐specific combody was able to efficiently mediate cytotoxicity against the target cells in vitro. Taken together, the strategy to make combody could be widely adopted to increase the avidity of Ab fragment for further application.
Synthesizing a novel genetic sequential logic circuit: a push‐on push‐off switch
Authors: Lou Chunbo , Liu Xili , Ni Ming , Huang Yiqi , Huang Qiushi , Huang Longwen , Jiang Lingli , Lu Dan , Wang Mingcong , Liu Chang , Chen Daizhuo , Chen Chongyi , Chen Xiaoyue , Yang Le , Ma Haisu , Chen Jianguo , Ouyang Qi
Published: March 2010

Design and synthesis of basic functional circuits are the fundamental tasks of synthetic biologists. Before it is possible to engineer higher‐order genetic networks that can perform complex functions, a toolkit of basic devices must be developed. Among those devices, sequential logic circuits are expected to be the foundation of the genetic information‐processing systems. In this study, we report the design and construction of a genetic sequential logic circuit in Escherichia coli. It can generate different outputs in response to the same input signal on the basis of its internal state, and ‘memorize’ the output. The circuit is composed of two parts: (1) a bistable switch memory module and (2) a double‐repressed promoter NOR gate module. The two modules were individually rationally designed, and they were coupled together by fine‐tuning the interconnecting parts through directed evolution. After fine‐tuning, the circuit could be repeatedly, alternatively triggered by the same input signal; it functions as a push‐on push‐off switch.
Zebrafish Pou5f1‐dependent transcriptional networks in temporal control of early development
Authors: Onichtchouk Daria , Geier Florian , Polok Bozena , Messerschmidt Daniel M , Mössner Rebecca , Wendik Björn , Song Sungmin , Taylor Verdon , Timmer Jens , Driever Wolfgang
Published: March 2010

The transcription factor POU5f1/OCT4 controls pluripotency in mammalian ES cells, but little is known about its functions in the early embryo. We used time‐resolved transcriptome analysis of zebrafish pou5f1 MZspg mutant embryos to identify genes regulated by Pou5f1. Comparison to mammalian systems defines evolutionary conserved Pou5f1 targets. Time‐series data reveal many Pou5f1 targets with delayed or advanced onset of expression. We identify two Pou5f1‐dependent mechanisms controlling developmental timing. First, several Pou5f1 targets are transcriptional repressors, mediating repression of differentiation genes in distinct embryonic compartments. We analyze her3 gene regulation as example for a repressor in the neural anlagen. Second, the dynamics of SoxB1 group gene expression and Pou5f1‐dependent regulation of her3 and foxD3 uncovers differential requirements for SoxB1 activity to control temporal dynamics of activation, and spatial distribution of targets in the embryo. We establish a mathematical model of the early Pou5f1 and SoxB1 gene network to demonstrate regulatory characteristics important for developmental timing. The temporospatial structure of the zebrafish Pou5f1 target networks may explain aspects of the evolution of the mammalian stem cell networks.
Using open access literature to guide full-text query formulation
Authors: Piwowar Heather , Chapman Wendy
Published: March 2010

Background

Much scientific knowledge is contained in the details of the full-text biomedical literature. Most research in automated retrieval presupposes that the target literature can be downloaded and preprocessed prior to query. Unfortunately, this is not a practical or maintainable option for most users due to licensing restrictions, website terms of use, and sheer volume. Scientific article full-text is increasingly queriable through portals such as PubMed Central, Highwire Press, Scirus, and Google Scholar. However, because these portals only support very basic Boolean queries and full text is so expressive, formulating an effective query is a difficult task for users. We propose improving the formulation of full-text queries by using the open access literature as a proxy for the literature to be searched. We evaluated the feasibility of this approach by building a high-precision query for identifying studies that perform gene expression microarray experiments.*Methodology and Results*We built decision rules from unigram and bigram features of the open access literature. Minor syntax modifications were needed to translate the decision rules into the query languages of PubMed Central, Highwire Press, and Google Scholar. We mapped all retrieval results to PubMed identifiers and considered our query results as the union of retrieved articles across all portals. Compared to our reference standard, the derived full-text query found 56% (95% confidence interval, 52% to 61%) of intended studies, and 90% (86% to 93%) of studies identified by the full-text search met the reference standard criteria. Due to this relatively high precision, the derived query was better suited to the intended application than alternative baseline MeSH queries.*Significance*Using open access literature to develop queries for full-text portals is an open, flexible, and effective method for retrieval of biomedical literature articles based on article full-text. We hope our approach will raise awareness of the constraints and opportunities in mainstream full-text information retrieval and provide a useful tool for today’s researchers.
Inflammatory cell recruitment in cardiovascular disease: murine models and potential clinical applications
Authors: McNeill Eileen , Channon Keith M. , Greaves David R.
Published: March 2010

Atherosclerosis is the pathological process that underlies the development of cardiovascular disease, a leading cause of mortality. Atherosclerotic plaque formation is driven by the recruitment of inflammatory monocytes into the artery wall, their differentiation into macrophages and the subsequent transformation of macrophages into cholesterol-laden foam cells. Models of hypercholesterolaemia such as the ApoE (apolipoprotein E)−/− mouse and the application of transgenic technologies have allowed us to undertake a thorough dissection of the cellular and molecular biology of the atherosclerotic disease process. Murine models have emphasized the central role of inflammation in atherogenesis and have been instrumental in the identification of adhesion molecules that support monocyte recruitment, scavenger receptors that facilitate cholesterol uptake by macrophages and other macrophage activation receptors. The study of mice deficient in multiple members of the chemokine family, and their receptors, has shown that chemokines play a critical role in promoting atherosclerotic plaque formation. In the present review, we will discuss novel therapeutic avenues for the treatment of cardiovascular disease that derive directly from our current understanding of atherogenesis gained in experimental animal models.
Ethics: A Model Curriculum for Teaching Professional Issues in University Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Programs
Authors: Poole Mary Lou , Solomon Barbara
Published: March 2010

Educating graduate level speech-language pathology and audiology students has become a truly daunting task. As the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA's) Scope of Practice (ASHA, 2007) expanded over the last 15 years, so did demands and challenges placed on universities to offer a wide range of disorder classes and clinical experiences. With regards to the area of professional issues, many programs struggle with balancing and providing appropriate pedagogical learning and clinical experience. This article offers a Model Professional Issues Curriculum for educational programs in speech-language pathology and audiology that was developed by a consortium of representatives from several universities throughout the United States. The course content, which consists of 13 core topics, is presented using Bloom's Taxonomy as a guideline for teaching the learning outcomes addressed. Educators in clinical education will find this model useful for developing a course in Professional Issues or supplementing existing courses.