bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The physical, chemical, and microbiological stability of chloramphenicol ophthalmic solution
Authors: Salih Tauwfik , El-Mahdi Idris
Published: January 2019

Aims: The aim of this work is to “predict” the remaining shelf-life of chloramphenicol (CH) eye drops, commercially marketed, using the theoretical “Longland–Rowbotham model,”” followed by confirmation of findings by practical means. Materials and Methods: The methods used for the evaluation of CH-eye drops included the assay of the active ingredient, sterility testing, and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination using official methods during 6 months stability study at variable temperatures (4, 25°C). Furthermore, a 3-month accelerated stability study was carried out. Statistical analysis tests included Student's t-test and analysis of variance. Results: The prediction model indicated that in pessimistic conditions, the remaining shelf life was reduced to a merely 1 month following production (this is versus the 2 years expiration date given by manufacturer). However, the samples analyzed throughout a 6-month stability study revealed that storing CH solution at 4°C or 25°C does not produce any statistical difference regarding drug content, MIC, or sterility. Accelerated stability studies for 3 months period showed that only after 2 months from storage at 55°C the drug will start to degrade and a statistical difference could be observed. Conclusion: Storing CH-eye drops at room temperature for up to 6 months appears to have no effect on the stability of this antibiotic.
The quest for global monetary policy coordination
Authors: Bruni Franco , Serrate José Siaba , Villafranca Antonio
Published: January 2019

This paper puts forward a proposal to help monetary policies confront the challenge of the “normalisation” of money creation and interest rates. The difficult unwinding of years of unorthodox policies put financial stability at risk in major monetary centres and in EMEs. The authors argue that global coordination is crucial to facing this challenge. They propose to convene appropriate official meetings to coordinate in an explicit, formal, and wellcommunicated way the process of normalisation and the discussions on the needed longterm changes in the strategy and institutional setting of monetary policies.
Climatology of Asian dust activation and transport potential based on MISR satellite observations and trajectory analysis
Authors: Yu Yan , Kalashnikova Olga V. , Garay Michael J. , Notaro Michael
Published: January 2019

Abstract. Asian dust, primarily emitted from the Taklamakan and Gobi deserts, has been
reported to reach remote destinations, such as North America. However, the
relative contribution of the Taklamakan and Gobi deserts to dust loadings
through long-range transport remains unaddressed in any observational study.
Here, the climatology of Asian dust activation and potential for transport is
investigated using stereo observations of dust sources from the Multi-angle
Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument combined with
observation-initiated trajectory modeling. MISR-derived dust plume top height
and dust plume motion vectors confirm the peak of dust activation and
transport potential in spring over the Gobi Desert and in both spring and
summer over the Taklamakan Desert. The long-range trajectory patterns of
Asian dust, including the influence on North America through trans-Pacific
transport, are assessed using extensive forward trajectories initiated by
MISR dust plume observations. The trajectory analysis reveals
latitude-dependent spread of dust trajectories from the Taklamakan and Gobi
deserts, with Taklamakan dust dominantly affecting to the south of
50∘ N and Gobi dust primarily affecting to the north of
50∘ N in North America. The Asian dust activation and transport
potential exhibit substantial seasonal and interannual variability,
motivating future studies on the potential drivers.
Structural changes in the shallow and transition branch of the Brewer–Dobson circulation induced by El Niño
Authors: Diallo Mohamadou , Konopka Paul , Santee Michelle L. , Müller Rolf , Tao Mengchu , Walker Kaley A. , Legras Bernard , Riese Martin , Ern Manfred , Ploeger Felix
Published: January 2019

Abstract. The stratospheric Brewer–Dobson circulation (BDC)
determines the
transport and atmospheric lifetime of key radiatively active trace gases and
further impacts surface climate through downward coupling.
Here, we quantify the variability in the lower stratospheric BDC
induced by the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), using satellite trace
gas measurements and simulations with the Lagrangian chemistry transport
model, CLaMS, driven by ERA-Interim and JRA-55 reanalyses.
We show that despite discrepancies in the deseasonalized ozone (O3)
mixing ratios between CLaMS simulations and satellite observations, the patterns
of changes in the lower stratospheric O3 anomalies induced by ENSO agree
remarkably well over the 2005–2016 period.
Particularly during the most recent El Niño in 2015–2016, both satellite
observations and CLaMS simulations show the largest negative tropical O3
anomaly in the record.
Regression analysis of different metrics of the BDC strength,
including mean age of air, vertical velocity, residual
circulation, and age
spectrum, shows clear evidence of structural changes in the BDC
in the lower stratosphere induced by El Niño, consistent with observed O3
anomalies. These structural changes during El Niño include a weakening of the
transition branch of the BDC between about 370 and 420 K
(∼100–70 hPa) and equatorward of about 60∘ and a strengthening
of the shallow branch at the same latitudes and between about 420 and
500 K
(∼70–30 hPa). The slowdown of the transition branch is due to
an upward shift in the dissipation height of the large-scale and gravity waves,
while the strengthening of the shallow branch results mainly from enhanced gravity
wave breaking in the tropics–subtropics combined with enhanced planetary
wave
breaking at high latitudes.
The strengthening of the shallow branch induces negative tropical O3
anomalies due to enhanced tropical upwelling, while the weakening of the
transition branch combined with enhanced downwelling due to the strengthening
shallow branch leads to positive O3 anomalies in the extratropical
upper troposphere–lower stratosphere (UTLS). Our results suggest that a
shift in the ENSO basic state toward more frequent
El Niño-like conditions in a warmer future climate will substantially alter
UTLS trace gas distributions due to these changes in the vertical structure
of the stratospheric circulation.
A Large Contribution of Anthropogenic Organo-Nitrates to Secondary Organic Aerosol in the Alberta Oil Sands
Authors: Lee Alex K. Y. , Adam Max G. , Liggio John , Li Shao-Meng , Li Kun , Willis Megan D. , Abbatt Jonathan P. D. , Tokarek Travis W. , Odame-Ankrah Charles A. , Osthoff Hans D. , Strawbridge Kevin , Brook Jeffery R.
Published: January 2019

Abstract. The oil sands industry in Alberta, Canada represents a large anthropogenic source of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Atmospheric emissions from oil sands operations are a complex mixture of gaseous and particulate pollutants. Their interaction can affect the formation and characteristics of SOA during plume dispersion, but their chemical evolution remains poorly understood. Oxidative processing of organic vapours in the presence of NOx can lead to particulate organo-nitrate (pON) formation, with important impacts for the SOA budgets, the nitrogen cycle and human health. We provide the first direct field evidence, from ground and aircraft-based real-time aerosol mass spectrometry, that anthropogenic pON contributed up to half of SOA mass that was freshly produced within the emission plumes of oil sands facilities. Using a top-down emission rate retrieval algorithm constrained by aircraft measurements, we estimate the production rate of pON in the oil sands region to be ~ 15.5 tonnes/day. We demonstrate that pON formation occurs via photooxidation of intermediate-volatility organic compounds (IVOCs) in high NOx environments, providing observational constraints to improve current SOA modelling frameworks. Our ambient observations are supported by laboratory photooxidation experiments of IVOCs from bitumen vapours under high NOx conditions, which demonstrate that pON can account for 30–55 % of the observed SOA mass depending on the degree of photochemical aging. The large contribution of pON to freshly formed anthropogenic SOA illustrates the central role of pON in SOA production from the oil and gas industry, with relevance for other urban and industrial regions with significant IVOC and NOx emissions.
Extratropical Age of Air trends and causative factors in climate
projection simulations
Authors: Šácha Petr , Eichinger Roland , Garny Hella , Pišoft Petr , Dietmüller Simone , de la Torre Laura , Plummer David A. , Jöckel Patrick , Morgenstern Olaf , Zeng Guang , Butchart Neal , Añel Juan A.
Published: January 2019

Abstract. Climate model simulations show a Brewer-Dobson circulation (BDC) acceleration in the course of climate change. While the mechanisms for the BDC strengthening are well understood, there are still open questions concerning its dynamical driving. Mean age of stratospheric air (AoA) is a useful transport diagnostic for accessing changes of the BDC. Analysing AoA from a subset of Chemistry Climate Model Initiative part 1 climate projection simulations, we find a remarkable agreement between most of the models in simulating the largest negative AoA trends in the extratropical lower to middle stratosphere of both hemispheres (approximately between 20 gpkm and 25 gpkm and 20°–50°N/S). We show that the occurrence of AoA trend minima in those regions is directly related to the climatological AoA distribution being sensitive to an upward shift of the circulation in response to a climate change. But also other factors like a reduction of aging by mixing (AbM) and residual circulation transit times (RCTTs) contribute to the AoA distribution changes by widening the AoA isolines. Furthermore we analyze the time evolution of AbM and RCTT trends in the extratropics and examine the connection to possible drivers like local residual circulation strength, net tropical upwelling and wave driving. However, after the correction for a vertical shift of pressure levels, we find only seasonally significant trends of residual circulation strength and zonal mean wave forcing (resolved and unresolved) without a clear relation between the trends of the analyzed quantities. This indicates that additional causative factors may influence the AoA, RCTT and AbM trends. Namely, we postulate a possible influence of stratospheric shrinkage on RCTT, AbM and therefore also on AoA trends. In this study, we postulate that the shrinkage of the stratosphere has the potential to influence the RCTT and AbM trends and thereby cause additional AoA changes over time.
Identification of jet lubrication oil as major component of aircraft exhaust nanoparticles
Authors: Fushimi Akihiro , Saitoh Katsumi , Fujitani Yuji , Takegawa Nobuyuki
Published: January 2019

Abstract. Jet engine aircraft are ubiquitous and significant sources of atmospheric nanoparticles. Using size-resolved particulate samples collected near a runway of the Narita International Airport, Japan, we clearly demonstrate that organic compounds in the ambient nanoparticles (diameter: <30 nm) were dominated by nearly intact forms of jet engine lubrication oil. This finding provides direct evidence for the importance of unburned lubrication oil as a source of aircraft exhaust nanoparticles and also has an implication for their environmental impacts near airports and in the upper troposphere.
Advancements in the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) Version 3 database – automated near-real-time quality control algorithm with improved cloud screening for Sun photometer aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements
Authors: Giles David M. , Sinyuk Alexander , Sorokin Mikhail G. , Schafer Joel S. , Smirnov Alexander , Slutsker Ilya , Eck Thomas F. , Holben Brent N. , Lewis Jasper R. , Campbell James R. , Welton Ellsworth J. , Korkin Sergey V. , Lyapustin Alexei I.
Published: January 2019

Abstract. The Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) has provided highly
accurate, ground-truth measurements of the aerosol optical depth (AOD) using
Cimel Electronique Sun–sky radiometers for more than 25 years. In Version 2 (V2)
of the AERONET database, the near-real-time AOD was semiautomatically
quality controlled utilizing mainly cloud-screening methodology, while
additional AOD data contaminated by clouds or affected by instrument
anomalies were removed manually before attaining quality-assured status
(Level 2.0). The large growth in the number of AERONET sites over the past
25 years resulted in significant burden to the manual quality control of millions
of measurements in a consistent manner. The AERONET Version 3 (V3) algorithm
provides fully automatic cloud screening and instrument anomaly quality
controls. All of these new algorithm updates apply to near-real-time data as
well as post-field-deployment processed data, and AERONET reprocessed the
database in 2018. A full algorithm redevelopment provided the opportunity to
improve data inputs and corrections such as unique filter-specific
temperature characterizations for all visible and near-infrared wavelengths,
updated gaseous and water vapor absorption coefficients, and ancillary data
sets. The Level 2.0 AOD quality-assured data set is now available within a
month after post-field calibration, reducing the lag time from up to several
months. Near-real-time estimated uncertainty is determined using data
qualified as V3 Level 2.0 AOD and considering the difference between the AOD
computed with the pre-field calibration and AOD computed with pre-field and
post-field calibration. This assessment provides a near-real-time
uncertainty estimate for which average differences of AOD suggest a +0.02 bias
and one sigma uncertainty of 0.02, spectrally, but the bias and uncertainty
can be significantly larger for specific instrument deployments. Long-term
monthly averages analyzed for the entire V3 and V2 databases produced
average differences (V3–V2) of +0.002 with a ±0.02 SD (standard
deviation), yet monthly averages calculated using time-matched observations
in both databases were analyzed to compute an average difference of −0.002
with a ±0.004 SD. The high statistical agreement in
multiyear monthly averaged AOD validates the advanced automatic data
quality control algorithms and suggests that migrating research to the
V3 database will corroborate most V2 research conclusions and likely lead to
more accurate results in some cases.
Intercomparison of four airborne imaging DOAS systems for tropospheric NO2 mapping – the AROMAPEX campaign
Authors: Tack Frederik , Merlaud Alexis , Meier Andreas C. , Vlemmix Tim , Ruhtz Thomas , Iordache Marian-Daniel , Ge Xinrui , van der Wal Len , Schuettemeyer Dirk , Ardelean Magdalena , Calcan Andreea , Constantin Daniel , Schönhardt Anja , Meuleman Koen , Richter Andreas , Van Roozendael Michel
Published: January 2019

Abstract. We present an intercomparison study
of four airborne imaging DOAS instruments, dedicated to the retrieval and
high-resolution mapping of tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) vertical
column densities (VCDs). The AROMAPEX campaign took place in Berlin, Germany,
in April 2016 with the primary objective to test and intercompare the
performance of experimental airborne imagers. The imaging DOAS instruments
were operated simultaneously from two manned aircraft, performing
synchronised flights: APEX (VITO–BIRA-IASB) was operated from DLR's DO-228
D-CFFU aircraft at 6.2 km in altitude, while AirMAP (IUP-Bremen), SWING
(BIRA-IASB), and SBI (TNO–TU Delft–KNMI) were operated from the FUB Cessna
207T D-EAFU at 3.1 km. Two synchronised flights took place on 21 April 2016.
NO2 slant columns were retrieved by applying differential optical
absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) in the visible wavelength region and converted
to VCDs by the computation of appropriate air mass factors (AMFs). Finally,
the NO2 VCDs were georeferenced and mapped at high spatial resolution.
For the sake of harmonising the different data sets, efforts were made to
agree on a common set of parameter settings, AMF look-up table, and gridding algorithm.
The NO2 horizontal distribution, observed by the different DOAS
imagers, shows very similar spatial patterns. The NO2 field is
dominated by two large plumes related to industrial compounds, crossing the
city from west to east. The major highways A100 and A113 are also identified
as line sources of NO2. Retrieved NO2 VCDs range between
1×1015 molec cm−2 upwind of the city and 20×1015 molec cm−2 in the dominant
plume, with a mean of 7.3±1.8×1015 molec cm−2 for the morning flight and between
1 and 23×1015 molec cm−2 with a mean of 6.0±1.4×1015 molec cm−2 for the afternoon flight. The mean NO2 VCD retrieval
errors are in the range of 22 % to 36 % for all sensors. The four data sets
are in good agreement with Pearson correlation coefficients better than 0.9,
while the linear regression analyses show slopes close to unity and generally
small intercepts.
Emergent relationships with respect to burned area in global satellite observations and fire-enabled vegetation models
Authors: Forkel Matthias , Andela Niels , Harrison Sandy P. , Lasslop Gitta , van Marle Margreet , Chuvieco Emilio , Dorigo Wouter , Forrest Matthew , Hantson Stijn , Heil Angelika , Li Fang , Melton Joe , Sitch Stephen , Yue Chao , Arneth Almut
Published: January 2019

Abstract. Recent climate changes have increased fire-prone weather conditions in many
regions and have likely affected fire occurrence, which might impact ecosystem
functioning, biogeochemical cycles, and society. Prediction of how fire
impacts may change in the future is difficult because of the complexity of
the controls on fire occurrence and burned area. Here we aim to assess how
process-based fire-enabled dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs) represent
relationships between controlling factors and burned area. We developed a
pattern-oriented model evaluation approach using the random forest (RF)
algorithm to identify emergent relationships between climate, vegetation, and
socio-economic predictor variables and burned area. We applied this approach
to monthly burned area time series for the period from 2005 to 2011 from satellite
observations and from DGVMs from the “Fire Modeling Intercomparison
Project” (FireMIP) that were run using a common protocol and forcing data sets. The
satellite-derived relationships indicate strong sensitivity to climate
variables (e.g. maximum temperature, number of wet days), vegetation
properties (e.g. vegetation type, previous-season plant productivity and leaf
area, woody litter), and to socio-economic variables (e.g. human population
density). DGVMs broadly reproduce the relationships with climate variables
and, for some models, with population density. Interestingly, satellite-derived responses
show a strong increase in burned area with an increase in previous-season leaf area index
and plant productivity in most fire-prone ecosystems, which was largely
underestimated by most DGVMs. Hence, our pattern-oriented model evaluation
approach allowed us to diagnose that vegetation effects on fire are a main
deficiency regarding fire-enabled dynamic global vegetation models' ability to accurately
simulate the role of fire under global environmental change.
MOMSO 1.0 - a near-global, coupled biogeochemical
ocean-circulation model configuration with realistic eddy kinetic
energy in the Southern Ocean
Authors: Dietze Heiner , Löptien Ulrike , Getzlaff Julia
Published: January 2019

Abstract. We present a new near-global coupled biogeochemical ocean-circulation model configuration. The configuration features a horizontal discretization with a grid spacing of less than 11 km in the Southern Ocean and gradually coarsens in meridional direction to more than 200 km at 64° N where the model is bounded by a solid wall. The underlying code framework is GFDL's Modular Ocean Model coupled to the Biology Light Iron Nutrients and Gasses (BLING) ecosystem model of Galbraith et al. (2010). The configuration is cutting-edge in that it features both a relatively equilibrated oceanic carbon inventory and a realistic representation of eddy kinetic energy – a combination that has, to-date, been precluded by prohibitive computational cost. Results from a simulation with climatological forcing and a sensitivity experiment with increasing winds suggest that the configuration is suited to explore Southern Ocean Carbon uptake dynamics on decadal timescales. Further, the fidelity of simulated bottom water temperatures off and on the Antarctic Shelf suggest that the configuration may be used to provide boundary conditions to ice-sheet models. The configuration is dubbed MOMSO a Modular Ocean Model Southern Ocean configuration.
The Eulerian urban dispersion model EPISODE. Part II:
Extensions to the source dispersion and photochemistry for
EPISODE-CityChem v1.2 and its application to the city of Hamburg
Authors: Karl Matthias , Walker Sam-Erik , Solberg Sverre , Ramacher Martin O. P.
Published: January 2019

Abstract. This paper describes the CityChem extension of the Eulerian urban dispersion model EPISODE. The development of the CityChem extension was driven by the need to apply the model in lower latitude cities with higher insolation than in northern European cities. The CityChem extension offers a more advanced treatment of the photochemistry in urban areas and entails specific developments within the sub-grid components for a more accurate representation of the dispersion in the proximity of urban emission sources. The WMPP (WORM Meteorological Pre-Processor) is used in the point source sub-grid model to calculate the wind speed at plume height. The simplified street canyon model (SSCM) is used in the line source sub-grid model to calculate pollutant dispersion in street canyons. The EPISODE-CityChem model integrates the CityChem extension in EPISODE, with the capability of simulating photochemistry and dispersion of multiple reactive pollutants within urban areas. The main focus of the model is the simulation of the complex atmospheric chemistry involved in the photochemical production of ozone in urban areas. EPISODE-CityChem was evaluated with a series of tests and with a first application to the air quality situation in the city of Hamburg, Germany. A performance analysis with the FAIRMODE DELTA Tool for the air quality in Hamburg showed that the model fulfils the model performance objectives for NO2 (hourly), O3 (daily max. of the 8-h running mean) and PM10 (daily mean) set forth in the Air Quality Directive, qualifying the model for use in policy applications. Observed levels of annual mean ozone at the five urban background stations in Hamburg are captured by the model within 15 %. Envisaged applications of the EPISODE-CityChem model are urban air quality studies, emission control scenarios in relation to traffic restrictions and the source attribution of sector-specific emissions to observed levels of air pollutants at urban monitoring stations.
A spatial multicriteria prioritizing approach for geo-hydrological risk mitigation planning in small and densely urbanized Mediterranean basins
Authors: Paliaga Guido , Faccini Francesco , Luino Fabio , Turconi Laura
Published: January 2019

Abstract. Landslides and floods, particularly flash floods, occurred recently in many
Mediterranean catchments as a consequence of heavy rainfall events, causing
damage and sometimes casualties. The high hazard is often associated with
high vulnerability deriving from intense urbanization, in particular along
the coastline where streams are habitually culverted. The necessary risk
mitigation strategies should be applied at the catchment scale with a holistic
approach, avoiding spot interventions. In the present work, a high-risk area, hit in the past by several floods and
concurrent superficial landslides due to extremely localized and intense
rain events, has been studied. A total of 21 small catchments have been identified:
only some of them have been hit by extremely damaging past events, but all
lie in the intense-rain high-hazard area and are strongly urbanized in the
lower coastal zone. The question is what would happen if an intense rain
event should strike one of the not previously hit catchments; some situations
could be worse or not, so attention has been focused on the comparison
among catchments. The aim of the research has been identifying a priority
scale among catchments, pointing out the more critical ones and giving a
quantitative comparison tool for decision makers to support strong
scheduling of long-time planning interventions at the catchment scale. The past
events' effects and the geomorphic process analysis together with the field
survey allowed us to select three sets of parameters: one describing the
morphometric–morphological features related to flood and landslide hazard,
another describing the degree of urbanization and of anthropogenic
modifications at the catchment scale and the last related to the elements that
are exposed to risk. The realized geodatabase allowed us to apply the spatial
multicriteria analysis technique (S-MCA) to the descriptive parameters and
to obtain a priority scale among the analyzed catchments. The scale can be
used to plan risk mitigation interventions starting from the more critical
catchments, then focusing economic resources primarily on them and obtaining
an effective prevention strategy. The methodology could be useful even to
check how the priority scale is modified during the progress of the
mitigation work realization. In addition, this approach could be applied in a similar context, even among
sub-catchments, after identifying a suitable set of descriptive parameters
depending on the active geomorphological processes and the kind of
anthropogenic modification. The prioritization would allow to invest
economic resources in risk mitigation interventions priory in the more
critical catchments.
A semi-automated algorithm to quantify scarp morphology (SPARTA): application to normal faults in southern Malawi
Authors: Hodge Michael , Biggs Juliet , Fagereng Åke , Elliott Austin , Mdala Hassan , Mphepo Felix
Published: January 2019

Abstract. Along-strike variation in scarp morphology
reflects differences in a fault's geomorphic and structural development and
can thus indicate fault rupture history and mechanical segmentation.
Parameters that define scarp morphology (height, width, slope) are typically
measured or calculated manually. The time-consuming manual approach reduces
the density and objectivity of measurements and can lead to oversight of
small-scale morphological variations that occur at a resolution impractical
to capture. Furthermore, inconsistencies in the manual approach may also lead
to unknown discrepancies and uncertainties between, and also within,
individual fault scarp studies. Here, we aim to improve the efficiency,
transparency and uniformity of calculating scarp morphological parameters by
developing a semi-automated Scarp PARameTer Algorithm (SPARTA). We compare
our findings against a traditional, manual analysis and assess the
performance of the algorithm using a range of digital elevation model (DEM)
resolutions. We then apply our new algorithm to a 12 m resolution TanDEM-X
DEM for four southern Malawi fault scarps, located at the southern end of the
East African Rift system: the Bilila–Mtakataka fault (BMF) and three previously
unreported scarps – Thyolo, Muona and Malombe. All but Muona exhibit
first-order structural segmentation at their surface. By using a 5 m
resolution DEM derived from high-resolution
(50 cm pixel−1) Pleiades stereo-satellite imagery for the
Bilila–Mtakataka fault scarp, we quantify secondary structural segmentation.
Our scarp height calculations from all four fault scarps suggest that if each
scarp was formed by a single, complete rupture, the slip–length ratio for
each earthquake exceeds the maximum typical value observed in historical
normal faulting earthquakes around the world. The high slip–length ratios
therefore imply that the Malawi fault scarps likely formed in multiple
earthquakes. The scarp height distribution implies the structural segments of
both the BMF and Thyolo fault have merged via rupture of discrete faults
(hard links) through several earthquake cycles, and the segments of the
Malombe fault have connected via distributed deformation zones (soft links).
For all faults studied here, the length of earthquake ruptures may therefore
exceed the length of each segment. Thus, our findings shed new light on the
seismic hazard in southern Malawi, indicating evidence for a number of large
(Mw 7–8) prehistoric earthquakes, as well as providing a new
semi-automated methodology (SPARTA) for calculating scarp morphological
parameters, which can be used on other fault scarps to infer structural
development.
Front Matter
Authors: School of Law University of Pittsburgh
Published: January 2019

NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS1.    The Journal invites the submission of unsolicited manuscripts. Submissions and correspondence concerning publications should be addressed to Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Law and Commerce, University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Barco Law Building, 3900 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15260.2.    The Journal requests that manuscripts be accompanied by an abstract of not more than 200 words describing the contents of the article.3.    Footnotes should conform to The Bluebook:  A Uniform System of Citation (20th ed. 2015).4.    All manuscripts, including footnotes and abstracts, should be typed and submitted directly to the website.Published twice yearly:  Fall, SpringAnnual Subscription Rate:  U.S. ‑ $20.00; Foreign ‑ $25.00Internet Address:  http://jlc.law.pitt.edu/E-mail Address:  jlc.law@mail.pitt.eduSingle copies of Volume 36 are $11.00 and may be ordered from the Business Manager, Journal of Law and Commerce, University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Barco Law Building, 3900 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15260.Volumes 1 through 35 may be ordered from William S. Hein & Co., Inc., 1285 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14209; (800) 828-7571.If subscription is to be discontinued at expiration, notice to that effect should be sent to the Journal office, otherwise it will be renewed.
Simplified Machine Diagnosis Techniques under Impact Vibration Using Higher Order Cumulants with the Comparison of Three Cases
Authors: Takeyasu Kazuhiro
Published: January 2019

Among many amplitude parameters, Kurtosis (4-th normalized moment of probability density function) is recognized to be the sensitive good parameter for machine diagnosis. On the other hand, a new method of machine diagnosis can be considered utilizing the higher order cumulants which have the characteristics that cumulants more than 3rd order are 0 under Gaussian distribution. Cumulants are stated in combination with the same order moment and the moments under that order. Simple calculation method is required on the maintenance site. Furthermore, the absolute deterioration factor such as Bicoherence would be much easier to handle because it takes the value of 1.0 under the normal condition and tends to be 0 when damages increase. In this paper, nth normalized cumulant is considered so as to intensify the sensitivity of diagnosis. Also, the simplified calculation method for this new parameter by impact vibration is introduced. Furthermore, the absolute deterioration factor is introduced. Three cases in which the rolling elements number is nine, twelve and sixteen are examined and compared. The new calculation method is examined whether it is a sensitive good parameter or not. Compared with the results obtained so far, the new method shows fairly good results.
Influence of Corporate Control on Capital Structure for Companies Listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange
Authors: Onguka David , Kaijage Eramus S. , Iraya Cyrus M. , Kisaka Sifunjo E.
Published: January 2019

This study aimed at determining the impact of corporate control on capital structure of Nairobi Securities listed firms. Capital structure decision contribute significantly to creating and growing firm’s value and wealth maximization for shareholders while corporate control is believed to be key influencer of the quality of such decision. The paper tested the hypothesis that there is no significant influence of corporate control on capital structure. Trade-off theory is the anchoring theory. Regression analysis and correlation analysis were applied to test the hypotheses. The key study variables of the listed companies were subjected to descriptive statistics and the results revealed a significant positive linkage between the variables. The findings were in line with previous research findings and also provided further insight on the impact of self-determining variable, corporate control on the capital structure. The study has also applied important mechanism in CCI to study the influence of corporate control on capital structure which has provided new insight on the relationship thereby enriching the result.
Book Review: Licensing Electronic Resources in Academic Libraries: A Practical Handbook
Authors: Smith Mandi
Published: January 2019

The proliferation of electronic resources (e-resources) arguably brings several benefits to libraries, including instant, from-anywhere access for patrons and automated workflows for technical services that are potentially more efficient. However, it also brings new challenges. One of these challenges is licensing the many e-resources offered through the contemporary library. Halaychik and Reagan address this challenge in Licensing Electronic Resources in Academic Libraries: A Practical Handbook. This resource primarily covers three license-related topics in five chapters. Chapters 1 and 3 discuss the basics of licensing and licensing law. Chapters 2 and 4 address the licensing process through the full life cycle of licenses. The final chapter discusses negotiating licenses.
Gestão escolar: a influência do modelo democrático na formação do aluno
Authors: Quinquiolo Natália Carvalho Rosas , Quinquiolo José Manoel
Published: January 2019

Neste trabalho busca-se compreender os aspectos da gestão escolar democrática e participativa e sua influência na formação cidadã dos sujeitos, assim como na estruturação de uma sociedade plural pautada no princípio de igualdade. Pontua-se a relação fundamental entre o uso desta modelagem gestora na efetivação de um ensino de qualidade, inclusivo e que instaura o papel social da escola como instituição formadora. Nesse contexto, realizou-se uma revisão bibliográfica, com vistas a clarificar o conceito de gestão escolar participativa e democrática, traçando um breve paralelo com o modelo tradicional, destacando a importância da formação do gestor nessa perspectiva e pontuando os problemas práticos e legais para implantação desse modelo.Palavras-chave: gestão escolar; gestão democrática; escola.
Aesthetic Animism
Authors: Johnston David Jhave
Published: January 2019

A poetics appropriate to the digital era that connects digital poetry to traditional poetry's concerns with being.

This book offers a decoder for some of the new forms of poetry enabled by digital technology. Examining many of the strange technological vectors converging on language, it proposes a poetics appropriate to the digital era while connecting digital poetry to traditional poetry's concerns with being (a.k.a. ontological implications).

Digital poetry, in this context, is not simply a descendent of the book. Digital poems are not necessarily “poems” or written by “poets”; they are found in ads, conceptual art, interactive displays, performative projects, games, or apps. Poetic tools include algorithms, browsers, social media, and data. Code blossoms into poetic objects and poetic proto-organisms.

Introducing the terms TAVs (Textual-Audio-Visuals) and TAVITS (Textual-Audio-Visual-Interactive), Aesthetic Animism theorizes a relation between scientific method and literary analysis; considers the temporal implications of animation software; and links software studies to creative writing. Above all it introduces many examples of digital poetry within a playful yet considered flexible taxonomy.

In the future imagined here, digital poets program, sculpt, and nourish immense immersive interfaces of semi-autonomous word ecosystems. Poetry, enhanced by code and animated by sensors, reengages themes active at the origin of poetry: animism, agency, consciousness. Digital poetry will be perceived as living, because it is living.
Keynes
Authors: Temin Peter , Vines David
Published: January 2019

Why Keynes is relevant to today's global economic crisis, and how Keynesian ideas can point the way to renewed economic growth.

As the global economic crisis continues to cause damage, some policy makers have called for a more Keynesian approach to current economic problems. In this book, the economists Peter Temin and David Vines provide an accessible introduction to Keynesian ideas that connects Keynes's insights to today's global economy and offers readers a way to understand current policy debates. They survey economic thinking before Keynes and explain how difficult it was for Keynes to escape from conventional wisdom. They also set out the Keynesian analysis of a closed economy and expand the analysis to the international economy, using a few simple graphs to present Keynes's formal analyses in an accessible way. Finally, they discuss problems of today's world economy, showcasing the usefulness of a simple Keynesian approach to current economic policy choices. Keynesian ideas, they argue, can lay the basis for a return to economic growth.
Chasing Men on Fire
Authors: Waxman Stephen G.
Published: January 2019

A thirty-year quest, from genes to pain-signaling neurons to people with a rare genetic disorder that makes them feel they are on fire.

Two soldiers, both with wounds injuring the same nerve, show very different responses: one is disabled by neuropathic pain, unable to touch the injured limb because even the lightest contact triggers excruciating discomfort; the other notices numbness but no pain at all. Could the difference lie in their genes? In this book, described in the foreword by Nobel Laureate James Rothman as “so well written that it reads like a detective novel,” Stephen Waxman recounts the search for a gene that controls pain—a search spanning more than thirty years and three continents. 

 

The story moves from genes to pain-signaling neurons that scream when they should be silent to people with a rare genetic disorder who feel they are on fire. Waxman explains that if pain-signaling neurons are injured by trauma or disease, they can become hyperactive and send pain signals to the brain even without external stimulus. Studying the hyperactive mutant pain gene in man on fire syndrome has pointed the way to molecules that produce pain more broadly within the general population, in the rest of us. Waxman's account of the many steps that led to discovery of the pain gene tells the story behind the science, of how science happens.
The Fabric of Interface
Authors: Monteiro Stephen
Published: January 2019

Tracing the genealogy of our physical interaction with mobile devices back to textile and needlecraft culture.

For many of our interactions with digital media, we do not sit at a keyboard but hold a mobile device in our hands. We turn and tilt and stroke and tap, and through these physical interactions with an object we make things: images, links, sites, networks. In The Fabric of Interface, Stephen Monteiro argues that our everyday digital practice has taken on traits common to textile and needlecraft culture. Our smart phones and tablets use some of the same skills—manual dexterity, pattern making, and linking—required by the handloom, the needlepoint hoop, and the lap-sized quilting frame. Monteiro goes on to argue that the capacity of textile metaphors to describe computing (weaving code, threaded discussions, zipped files, software patches, switch fabrics) represents deeper connections between digital communication and what has been called “homecraft” or “women's work.”

Connecting networked media to practices that seem alien to media technologies, Monteiro identifies handicraft and textile techniques in the production of software and hardware, and cites the punched cards that were read by a loom's rods as a primitive form of computer memory; examines textual and visual discourses that position the digital image as a malleable fabric across its production, access, and use; compares the digital labor of liking, linking, and tagging to such earlier forms of collective production as quilting bees and piecework; and describes how the convergence of intimacy and handiwork at the screen interface, combined with needlecraft aesthetics, genders networked culture and activities in unexpected ways.
Coding Literacy
Authors: Vee Annette
Published: January 2019

How the theoretical tools of literacy help us understand programming in its historical, social and conceptual contexts.

The message from educators, the tech community, and even politicians is clear: everyone should learn to code. To emphasize the universality and importance of computer programming, promoters of coding for everyone often invoke the concept of “literacy,” drawing parallels between reading and writing code and reading and writing text. In this book, Annette Vee examines the coding-as-literacy analogy and argues that it can be an apt rhetorical frame. The theoretical tools of literacy help us understand programming beyond a technical level, and in its historical, social, and conceptual contexts. Viewing programming from the perspective of literacy and literacy from the perspective of programming, she argues, shifts our understandings of both. Computer programming becomes part of an array of communication skills important in everyday life, and literacy, augmented by programming, becomes more capacious.

Vee examines the ways that programming is linked with literacy in coding literacy campaigns, considering the ideologies that accompany this coupling, and she looks at how both writing and programming encode and distribute information. She explores historical parallels between writing and programming, using the evolution of mass textual literacy to shed light on the trajectory of code from military and government infrastructure to large-scale businesses to personal use. Writing and coding were institutionalized, domesticated, and then established as a basis for literacy. Just as societies demonstrated a “literate mentality” regardless of the literate status of individuals, Vee argues, a “computational mentality” is now emerging even though coding is still a specialized skill.
Agreement Beyond Phi
Authors: Miyagawa Shigeru
Published: January 2019

An argument that agreement and agreementless languages are unified under an expanded view of grammatical features including both phi-features and certain discourse configurational features.

Much attention in theoretical linguistics in the generative and Minimalist traditions is concerned with issues directly or indirectly related to movement. The EPP (extended projection principle), introduced by Chomsky in 1981, appeared to coincide with morphological agreement, and agreement came to play a central role as the driver of movement and other narrow-syntax operations. In this book, Shigeru Miyagawa continues his investigation into a computational equivalent for agreement in agreementless languages such as Japanese.

Miyagawa extends his theory of Strong Uniformity, introduced in his earlier book, Why Agree? Why Move? Unifying Agreement-Based and Discourse-Configurational Languages (MIT Press). He argues that agreement and agreementless languages are unified under an expanded view of grammatical features including both phi-features and discourse configurational features of topic and focus. He looks at various combinations of these two grammatical features across a number of languages and phenomena, including allocutive agreement, root phenomena, topicalization, “why” questions, and case alternation.
Reassembling Rubbish
Authors: Lepawsky Josh
Published: January 2019

An examination of the global trade and traffic in discarded electronics that reframes the question of the “right” thing to do with e-waste.

The prevailing storyline about the problem of electronic waste frames e-waste as generated by consumers in developed countries and dumped on people and places in developing countries. In Reassembling Rubbish, Josh Lepawsky offers a different view. In an innovative analysis of the global trade and traffic in discarded electronics, Lepawsky reframes the question of the “right” thing to do with e-waste, mapping the complex flows of electronic materials. He counters the assumption that e-waste is a post-consumer problem, pointing out that waste occurs at all stages of electronic materials' existence, and calls attention to the under-researched world of reuse and repair.

Lepawsky explains that there are conflicting legal distinctions between electronic waste and non-waste, and examines a legal case that illustrates the consequences. He shows that patterns of trade do not support the dominant narrative of e-waste dumping but rather represent the dynamic ecologies of repair, refurbishment, and materials recovery. He asks how we know waste, how we measure it, and how we construe it, and how this affects our efforts to mitigate it. We might not put so much faith in household recycling if we counted the more massive amounts of pre-consumer electronic waste as official e-waste. Lepawsky charts the “minescapes,” “productionscapes,” and “clickscapes” of electronics, and the uneven “discardscapes” they produce. Finally, he considers both conventional and unconventional e-waste solutions, including decriminalizing export for reuse, repair, and upgrade; enabling ethical trade in electronics reuse, repair, refurbishment, and recycling; implementing extended producer responsibility; and instituting robust forms of public oversight.
Perceptrons
Authors: Minsky Marvin , Papert Seymour A.
Published: January 2019

The first systematic study of parallelism in computation by two pioneers in the field.

Reissue of the 1988 Expanded Edition with a new foreword by Léon Bottou

In 1969, ten years after the discovery of the perceptron—which showed that a machine could be taught to perform certain tasks using examples—Marvin Minsky and Seymour Papert published Perceptrons, their analysis of the computational capabilities of perceptrons for specific tasks. As Léon Bottou writes in his foreword to this edition, “Their rigorous work and brilliant technique does not make the perceptron look very good.” Perhaps as a result, research turned away from the perceptron. Then the pendulum swung back, and machine learning became the fastest-growing field in computer science. Minsky and Papert's insistence on its theoretical foundations is newly relevant.

Perceptrons—the first systematic study of parallelism in computation—marked a historic turn in artificial intelligence, returning to the idea that intelligence might emerge from the activity of networks of neuron-like entities. Minsky and Papert provided mathematical analysis that showed the limitations of a class of computing machines that could be considered as models of the brain. Minsky and Papert added a new chapter in 1987 in which they discuss the state of parallel computers, and note a central theoretical challenge: reaching a deeper understanding of how “objects” or “agents” with individuality can emerge in a network. Progress in this area would link connectionism with what the authors have called “society theories of mind.”