bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Germans' Transnational Contact and Trust in Other Nations; A Methodologically Cosmopolitan Approach
Authors: Sarmiento-Mirwaldt Katja
Published: October 2011

This article considers Germans' relationships with other nations from a perspective of methodological cosmopolitanism. It examines the claim that everincreasing contacts with members of different nations can bring about a sense of trust in these nations. Using data from a 2006 opinion poll, it analyzes Germans' contact with and trust in six other nations. The study suggests that Germany as a whole is too large as a level of analysis. Germans' transnational relationships are better examined at a subnational level such as political districts. It is shown that transnational contact is particularly likely to occur in border regions and in parts of Germany with a high proportion of foreign residents. The two types of contact, however, have a differential effect on Germans' trust in other nations. Cross-border contact appears to be influenced by Germany's long-standing relationships with its western allies, since such contact has a positive effect on trust in western nations but not eastern ones. Conversely, multicultural contact with immigrant communities has a generally positive effect on levels of trust in other nations.
Editorial
Authors: Welch Penny , Wright Susan
Published: October 2011

Welcome to this issue of Learning and Teaching: The International Journal of Higher Education in the Social Sciences. Our thanks go to the authors of articles and reviews, the anonymous referees who read the articles, the publishers who provided review copies of the books, our own publisher

Berghahn and the Editorial Board.
Book Reviews
Authors: Thorkelson Eli , Fuller Steve
Published: October 2011

Annie Vinokur and Carole Sigman (eds) (2010) L’enseignement supérieur entre nouvelle gestion publique et crise systémique

Review by Eli Thorkelson

Michèle Lamont (2009) How Professors Think: Inside the Curious World of Academic Judgment

Review by Steve Fuller
The Bedouin in History or Bedouin History?
Authors: Franz Kurt
Published: October 2011

Approaches to the Bedouin's importance in the history of the Arab Middle East regularly confl ict on whether outside or inside infl uences are paramount. In particular, have their political structures and activities been a secondary response to processes that stemmed from the polities of sedentary people, or have primary agency and rationales from within their own milieu been pivotal? For the fi rst time, this issue is to undergo methodical diachronic analysis. Distinguishing major periods of Bedouin political development from antiquity to the present, with an emergent focus on northern Arabia and the Fertile Crescent, a constant set of seven key features is assessed period by period in order to compare historical variations. Period-specifi c and consolidated results show that periods characterised by intrinsic factors differ clearly from periods marked by extrinsic ones, and that they alternate. Even as the Bedouin engage in interaction with the sedentary people, their own dynamics prove persistent and irreducible in themselves.
Being in the Frontline of a Sámi Culture and a Private Business: Cross-Border Reindeer Herding in Northern Norway and Sweden
Authors: Koch Peter , Miggelbrink Judith
Published: October 2011

This article investigates a conflict that loomed over the mutual use of pastures on either side of the border by various Sámi groups during the last decade. On the basis of a critical reading of Foucault, we analyse the identifications connected to different kinds of spaces that come up in the mediation of this conflict. Surprisingly, the notion of belonging to an indigenous people plays only a very limited role in this conflict. Being a Sámi and a state citizen turns out to be more important. Reindeer pastures are perceived as lands, bounded spaces, and as part of the state space, since reindeer herding is a 'nationalised' business. However, pastures as concrete places in themselves have not emerged as an important aspect of this conflict.
An Efficient Synthesis of Novel Chromone-Containing Furopyrimidines
Authors: Teimouri Mohammad Bagher , Eskandari Mehrdad
Published: October 2011

The one-pot three-component reaction of 1,3-disubstituted barbituric acid derivatives, 3-formylchromones and alkyl isocyanides proceed smoothly at room temperature to give the corresponding chromone-containing furopyrimidines derivatives in good yields within 10 minutes in DMF. This three-component reaction represents a facile and efficient route to the furo[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives, which have become synthetic targets for many organic and medicinal chemists. In the course of the creation of a fused furopyrimidine ring, three bonds (C=C, C–C and C–O bonds) are newly formed.
Enzyme Supplementation of Layer Diets Containing Wheat Middlings
Authors: Abudabos Alaeldein M
Published: October 2011

A 15-week trial examined the effects of dietary enzyme supplementation on egg production, egg mass, egg composition, and nutrient retention in layers (Hy-Line W-36) fed diets containing wheat middlings (WM) from 25 to 40 weeks of age. The enzymes used were a commercially available combination of xylanase, amylase and protease. Seven diets were assigned to five replicate cages with five hens per pen. Diet 1 was a corn-soy control; diets 2, 4, and 6 contained 10, 20 and 30% levels of WM, respectively, while diets 3, 5 and 7 contained these same levels, respectively, but supplemented with 0.1% enzyme. Feed intake and egg production were not significantly affected by treatment. Hens fed the control diet had significantly better feed conversion ratio (FCR) than those fed the WM diets (1.84 versus 1.95, respectively). Enzyme supplementation had no effect on egg production, but had a significant (P < 0.001) effect on egg mass. Excreta crude protein retention was higher for the control diet (53.4 versus 46.0% for the WM diets). Enzyme increased significantly excreta calcium retention (54.6 versus 46.0%, respectively). Enzyme improved apparent metabolisable energy values compared to diets without enzyme supplementation (2,980 versus 2,898 kcal kg−1). Type of diet had the most significant effect on performance. Including WM in laying hen diets depend on the price of corn and could serve as a good alternative. Enzyme supplementation to WM diets improved apparent nutrient digestibility but had no effect on feed conversion nor egg mass.
A Multilevel Analysis of Neighbourhood Built and Social Environments and Adult Self-Reported Physical Activity and Body Mass Index in Ottawa, Canada
Authors: Prince Stephanie A. , Kristjansson Elizabeth A. , Russell Katherine , Billette Jean-Michel , Sawada Michael , Ali Amira , Tremblay Mark S. , Prud’homme Denis
Published: October 2011

Canadian research examining the combined effects of social and built environments on physical activity (PA) and obesity is limited. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships among built and social environments and PA and overweight/obesity in 85 Ottawa neighbourhoods. Self-reported PA, height and weight were collected from 3,883 adults using the International PA Questionnaire from the 2003-2007 samples of the Rapid Risk Factor Surveillance System. Data on neighbourhood characteristics were obtained from the Ottawa Neighbourhood Study; a large study of neighbourhoods and health in Ottawa. Two-level binomial logistic regression models stratified by sex were used to examine the relationships of environmental and individual variables with PA and overweight/obesity while using survey weights. Results identified that approximately half of the adults were insufficiently active or overweight/obese. Multilevel models identified that for every additional convenience store, men were two times more likely to be physically active (OR = 2.08, 95% CI: 1.72, 2.43) and with every additional specialty food store women were almost two times more likely to be overweight or obese (OR = 1.77, 95% CI: 1.33, 2.20). Higher green space was associated with a reduced likelihood of PA (OR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.86, 0.99) and increased odds of overweight and obesity in men (OR = 1.10, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.19), and decreased odds of overweight/obesity in women (OR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.44, 0.89). In men, neighbourhood socioeconomic scores, voting rates and sense of community belonging were all significantly associated with overweight/obesity. Intraclass coefficients were low, but identified that the majority of neighbourhood variation in outcomes was explained by the models. Findings identified that green space, food landscapes and social cohesiveness may play different roles on PA and overweight/obesity in men and women and future prospective studies are needed.
Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Ampelopsis grossedentata Stems: Process Optimization and Antioxidant Activity
Authors: Wang Yuefei , Ying Le , Sun Da , Zhang Shikang , Zhu Yuejin , Xu Ping
Published: October 2011

Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction of bioactive compounds including flavonoids and phenolics from Ampelopsis grossedentata stems was carried out. Extraction parameters such as pressure, temperature, dynamic time and modifier, were optimized using an orthogonal array design of L9 (34), and antioxidant activities of the extracts were evaluated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay and ferrous ion chelating (FIC) assay. The best conditions obtained for SC-CO2 extraction of flavonoids was 250 bar, 40 °C, 50 min, and with a modifier of methanol/ethanol (1:3, v/v), and that for phenolics extraction was 250 bar, 40 °C, 50 min, and with a modifier of methanol/ethanol (1:1, v/v). Meantime, flavonoids and phenolics were found to be mainly responsible for the DPPH scavenging activity of the extracts, but not for the chelating activity on ferrous ion according to Pearson correlation analysis. Furthermore, several unreported flavonoids such as apigenin, vitexin, luteolin, etc., have been detected in the extracts from A. grossedentata stems.
The Structural Diversity of Carbohydrate Antigens of Selected Gram-Negative Marine Bacteria
Authors: Nazarenko Evgeny L. , Crawford Russell J. , Ivanova Elena P.
Published: October 2011

Marine microorganisms have evolved for millions of years to survive in the environments characterized by one or more extreme physical or chemical parameters, e.g., high pressure, low temperature or high salinity. Marine bacteria have the ability to produce a range of biologically active molecules, such as antibiotics, toxins and antitoxins, antitumor and antimicrobial agents, and as a result, they have been a topic of research interest for many years. Among these biologically active molecules, the carbohydrate antigens, lipopolysaccharides (LPSs, O-antigens) found in cell walls of Gram-negative marine bacteria, show great potential as candidates in the development of drugs to prevent septic shock due to their low virulence. The structural diversity of LPSs is thought to be a reflection of the ability for these bacteria to adapt to an array of habitats, protecting the cell from being compromised by exposure to harsh environmental stress factors. Over the last few years, the variety of structures of core oligosaccharides and O-specific polysaccharides from LPSs of marine microrganisms has been discovered. In this review, we discuss the most recently encountered structures that have been identified from bacteria belonging to the genera Aeromonas, Alteromonas, Idiomarina, Microbulbifer, Pseudoalteromonas, Plesiomonas and Shewanella of the Gammaproteobacteria phylum; Sulfitobacter and Loktanella of the Alphaproteobactera phylum and to the genera Arenibacter, Cellulophaga, Chryseobacterium, Flavobacterium, Flexibacter of the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroides phylum. Particular attention is paid to the particular chemical features of the LPSs, such as the monosaccharide type, non-sugar substituents and phosphate groups, together with some of the typifying traits of LPSs obtained from marine bacteria. A possible correlation is then made between such features and the environmental adaptations undertaken by marine bacteria.
From Mini to Micro Scale—Feasibility of Raman Spectroscopy as a Process Analytical Tool (PAT)
Authors: Wirges Markus , Müller Joshua , Kása Péter , Regdon Géza , Pintye-Hódi Klára , Knop Klaus , Kleinebudde Peter
Published: October 2011

Background: Active coating is an important unit operation in the pharmaceutical industry. The quality, stability, safety and performance of the final product largely depend on the amount and uniformity of coating applied. Active coating is challenging regarding the total amount of coating and its uniformity. Consequently, there is a strong demand for tools, which are able to monitor and determine the endpoint of a coating operation. In previous work, it was shown that Raman spectroscopy is an appropriate process analytical tool (PAT) to monitor an active spray coating process in a pan coater [1]. Using a multivariate model (Partial Least Squares—PLS) the Raman spectral data could be correlated with the coated amount of the API diprophylline. While the multivariate model was shown to be valid for the process in a mini scale pan coater (batch size: 3.5 kg cores), the aim of the present work was to prove the robustness of the model by transferring the results to tablets coated in a micro scale pan coater (0.5 kg). Method: Coating experiments were performed in both, a mini scale and a micro scale pan coater. The model drug diprophylline was coated on placebo tablets. The multivariate model, established for the process in the mini scale pan coater, was applied to the Raman measurements of tablets coated in the micro scale coater for six different coating levels. Then, the amount of coating, which was predicted by the model, was compared with reference measurements using UV spectroscopy. Results: For all six coating levels the predicted coating amount was equal to the amounts obtained by UV spectroscopy within the statistical error. Thus, it was possible to predict the total coating amount with an error smaller than 3.6%. The root mean squares of errors for calibration and prediction (root mean square of errors for calibration and prediction—RMSEC and RMSEP) were 0.335 mg and 0.392 mg, respectively, which means that the predictive power of the model is not dependent on the scale or the equipment. Conclusion: The scale-down experiment showed that it was possible to transfer the PLS model developed on a mini scale coater to a micro scale coater.
Monitoring the Extent of Contamination from Acid Mine Drainage in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (SW Spain) Using Hyperspectral Imagery
Authors: Riaza Asuncion , Buzzi Jorge , García-Meléndez Eduardo , Carrère Veronique , Müller Andreas
Published: October 2011

Monitoring mine waste from sulfide deposits by hyperspectral remote sensing can be used to predict surface water quality by quantitatively estimating acid drainage and metal contamination on a yearly basis. In addition, analysis of the mineralogy of surface crusts rich in soluble salts can provide a record of annual humidity and temperature. In fact, temporal monitoring of salt efflorescence from mine wastes at a mine site in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (Huelva, Spain) has been achieved using hyperspectral airborne Hymap data. Furthermore, climate variability estimates are possible based on oxidation stages derived from well-known sequences of minerals, by tracing sulfide oxidation intensity using archive spectral libraries. Thus, airborne and spaceborne hyperspectral remote sensing data can be used to provide a short-term record of climate change, and represent a useful set of tools for assessing environmental geoindicators in semi-arid areas. Spectral and geomorphological indicators can be monitored on a regular basis through image processing, supported by field and laboratory spectral data. In fact, hyperspectral image analysis is one of the methods selected by the Joint Research Centre of the European Community (Ispra, Italy) to study abandoned mine sites, in order to assess the enforcement of the European Mine Waste Directive (2006/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 15 March 2006) on the management of waste from extractive industries (Official Journal of the European Union, 11 April 2006). The pyrite belt in Andalucia has been selected as one of the core mission test sites for the PECOMINES II program (Cracow, November 2005), using imaging spectroscopy; and this technique is expected to be implemented as a monitoring tool by the Environmental Net of Andalucía (REDIAM, Junta de Andalucía, Spain).
Investigating the extent to which mobile phones reduce Knowledge Transfer barriers in Student Project Teams
Authors: Kyobe Michael E. , Shongwe Mzwandile M.
Published: October 2011

Group learning plays a key role in the transfer of knowledge. In institutions of learning, it enhances students’ understanding, critical thinking, integration of knowledge and knowledge sharing. However, the transfer of knowledge in group projects is often impeded by factors such as time and budget constraints, individual and social barriers, and a lack of motivation.Institutions of learning are increasingly adopting information and communication technologies (e.g. mobile technologies) to provide solutions to the challenges facing them. Whilst the integration of the mobile context and technologies in learning environment has been encouraged over the years, and indeed many students today can use mobile phones, the effectiveness of these technologies in reducing impediments to knowledge transfer in group learning has not been investigated.This study investigated the extent to which mobile phones reduce the barriers to knowledge transfer in project groups. The impediments examined include the nature of knowledge, social barriers, lack of time and lack of motivation. Quantitative and qualitative approaches were used to collect and analyse the data. The sample consisted of 85 students engaged in group projects in the departments of Information Systems, Civil Engineering, Computer Science and Construction Engineering.The results show that mobile phones reduce all four knowledge transfer barriers investigated in the project groups. We found no significant difference in the nature of knowledge shared by teams with weak and strong ties. This suggests that teams with weak social ties who normally experience difficulty sharing complex (tacit) knowledge can easily do so with the aid of mobile facilities. In addition, frequent users of mobile phones were motivated to share explicit knowledge with their peers whilst those who often work with tacit knowledge could convert it to explicit form and share it with others. Mobile features like short messaging service and multimedia messaging service (SMS & MMS or what some people refer to as ‘texting’), and email were mainly used to share knowledge and were perceived to reduce knowledge transfer time more than voice facilities.Our findings indicate that most students do not utilise the affordances of mobile phones for tacit knowledge transfer. Sharing of tacit knowledge needs to be encouraged since it allows individuals to achieve personal goals and may lead to effective management of oneself, other people and tasks. In addition, students do not appear to recognise the role of mobile phones in enhancing knowledge transfer. More awareness of this role needs to be created in institutions of learning in order to improve group learning and student performance.
A preliminary factor analytic investigation into the firstorder factor structure of the Fifteen Factor Plus (15FQ+) on a sample of Black South African managers
Authors: Moyo Seretse , Theron Callie
Published: October 2011

Orientation: The Fifteen Factor Questionnaire Plus (15FQ+) is a prominent personality questionnaire that organisations frequently use in personnel selection in South Africa.Research purpose: The primary objective of this study was to undertake a factor analytic investigation of the first-order factor structure of the 15FQ+.Motivation for the study: The construct validity of the 15FQ+, as a measure of personality, is necessary even though it is insufficient to justify its use in personnel selection.Research design, approach and method: The researchers evaluated the fit of the measurement model, which the structure and scoring key of the 15FQ+ implies, in a quantitative study that used an ex post facto correlation design through structural equation modelling. They conducted a secondary data analysis. They selected a sample of 241 Black South African managers from a large 15FQ+ database.Main findings: The researchers found good measurement model fit. The measurement model parameter estimates were worrying. The magnitude of the estimated model parameters suggests that the items generally do not reflect the latent personality dimensions the designers intended them to with a great degree of precision. The items are reasonably noisy measures of the latent variables they represent.Practical/managerial implications: Organisations should use the 15FQ+ carefully on Black South African managers until further local research evidence becomes available.Contribution/value-add: The study is a catalyst to trigger the necessary additional research we need to establish convincingly the psychometric credentials of the 15FQ+ as a valuable assessment tool in South Africa.
Contrasting organic aerosol particles from boreal and tropical forests during HUMPPA-COPEC-2010 and AMAZE-08 using coherent vibrational spectroscopy
Authors: Ebben C. J. , Martinez I. S. , Shrestha M. , Buchbinder A. M. , Corrigan A. L. , Guenther A. , Karl T. , Petäjä T. , Song W. W. , Zorn S. R. , Artaxo P. , Kulmala M. , Martin S. T. , Russell L. M. , Williams J. , Geiger F. M.
Published: October 2011

Abstract. We present the vibrational sum frequency generation spectra of organic particles collected in a boreal forest in Finland and a tropical forest in Brazil. These spectra are compared to those of secondary organic material produced in the Harvard Environmental Chamber. By comparing coherent vibrational spectra of a variety of terpene and olefin reference compounds, along with the secondary organic material synthesized in the environmental chamber, we show that submicron aerosol particles sampled in Southern Finland during HUMPPA-COPEC-2010 are composed to a large degree of material similar in chemical composition to synthetic α-pinene-derived material. For material collected in Brazil as part of AMAZE-08, the organic component is found to be chemically complex in the coarse mode but highly uniform in the fine mode. When combined with histogram analyses of the isoprene and monoterpene abundance recorded during the HUMPPA-COPEC-2010 and AMAZE-08 campaigns, the findings presented here indicate that if air is rich in monoterpenes, submicron-sized secondary aerosol particles that form under normal OH and O3 concentration levels can be described in terms of their hydrocarbon content as being similar to α-pinene-derived model secondary organic aerosol particles. If the isoprene concentration dominates the chemical composition of organic compounds in forest air, then the hydrocarbon component of secondary organic material in the submicron size range is not simply well-represented by that of isoprene-derived model secondary organic aerosol particles but is more complex. Throughout the climate-relevant size range of the fine mode, however, we find that the chemical composition of the secondary organic particle material from such air is invariant with size, suggesting that the particle growth does not change the chemical composition of the hydrocarbon component of the particles in a significant way.
Evaluation of the smoke injection height from wild-land fires using remote sensing data
Authors: Sofiev M. , Ermakova T. , Vankevich R.
Published: October 2011

Abstract. A new methodology for estimation of the smoke injection height from wild-land fires is suggested and evaluated. It is demonstrated that the approaches developed for estimating the plume rise from stacks can be formally written in terms characterising the wild-land fires: fire energy, size and temperature. However, these semi-empirical methods still perform quite poorly because the physical processes behind the uplift of the wildfire plumes strongly differ from those controlling the plume rise from stacks. The suggested new methodology considers wildfire plumes in a way similar to the Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) computations. The new formulations are applied to the dataset collected within the MISR Plume Height Project for about 2000 fire plumes in Northern America and Siberia. It is shown that the new method performs significantly better than the stack-oriented formulations. For two-thirds of the cases, its predictions deviated from the MISR observations by less than 500 m, which is the uncertainty of the observations themselves. It is shown that the fraction of "good" predictions is much higher (>80 %) for the plumes reaching the free troposphere.
Nitrous oxide emissions from managed grassland: a comparison of eddy covariance and static chamber measurements
Authors: Jones S. K. , Famulari D. , Di Marco C. F. , Nemitz E. , Skiba U. M. , Rees R. M. , Sutton M. A.
Published: October 2011

Abstract. Managed grasslands are known to be an important source of N2O with estimated global losses of 2.5 Tg N2O-N yr−1. Chambers are to date the most widely used method to measure N2O fluxes, but also micrometeorological methods are successfully applied. In this paper we present a comparison of N2O fluxes measured by non-steady state chambers and eddy covariance (EC) (using an ultra-sonic anemometer coupled with a tunable diode laser) from an intensively grazed and fertilised grassland site in South East Scotland. The measurements were taken after fertilisation events in 2003, 2007 and 2008. In four out of six comparison periods, a short-lived increase of N2O emissions was observed after mineral N application, returning to background level within 2–6 days. Highest fluxes were measured by both methods in July 2007 with maximum values of 1438 ng N2O-N m−2 s−1 (EC) and 651 ng N2O-N m−2 s−1 (chamber method). Negative fluxes above the detection limit were observed in all comparison periods by EC, while with chambers, the recorded negative fluxes were always below detection limit. Median and average fluxes over each period were always positive. Over all 6 comparison periods, 69% of N2O fluxes measured by EC at the time of chamber closure were within the range of the chamber measurements. N2O fluxes measured by EC during the time of chamber closure were not consistently smaller, neither larger, compared to those measured by chambers: this reflects the fact that the different techniques integrate fluxes over different spatial and temporal scales. Large fluxes measured by chambers may be representing local hotspots providing a small contribution to the flux measured by the EC method which integrates over a larger area. The spatial variability from chamber measurements was high, as shown by a coefficient of variation of up to 139%. No diurnal pattern of N2O fluxes was observed, possibly due to the small diurnal variations of soil temperature. The calculation of cumulative fluxes using different integration methods showed EC data provide generally lower estimates of N2O emissions than chambers.
Application of δ13C and δ15N isotopic signatures of organic matter fractions sequentially separated from adjacent arable and forest soils to identify carbon stabilization mechanisms
Authors: Kayler Z. E. , Kaiser M. , Gessler A. , Ellerbrock R. H. , Sommer M.
Published: October 2011

Abstract. Identifying the chemical mechanisms behind soil carbon bound in organo-mineral complexes is necessary to determine the degree to which soil organic carbon is stabilized belowground. Analysis of δ13C and δ15N isotopic signatures of stabilized OM fractions along with soil mineral characteristics may yield important information about OM-mineral associations and their processing history. We anlayzed the δ13C and δ15N isotopic signatures from two organic matter (OM) fractions along with soil mineral proxies to identify the likely binding mechanisms involved. We analyzed OM fractions hypothesized to contain carbon stabilized through organo-mineral complexes: (1) OM separated chemically with sodium pyrophosphate (OM(PY)) and (2) OM occluded in micro-structures found in the chemical extraction residue (OM(ER)). Because the OM fractions were separated from five different soils with paired forest and arable land use histories, we could address the impact of land use change on carbon binding and processing mechanisms. We used partial least squares regression to analyze patterns in the isotopic signature of OM with established mineral and chemical proxies indicative for certain binding mechanisms. We found different mechanisms predominate in each land use type. For arable soils, the formation of OM(PY)-Ca-mineral associations was identified as an important OM binding mechanism. Therefore, we hypothesize an increased stabilization of microbial processed OM(PY) through Ca2+ interactions. In general, we found the forest soils to contain on average 10% more stabilized carbon relative to total carbon stocks, than the agricultural counter part. In forest soils, we found a positive relationship between isotopic signatures of OM(PY) and the ratio of soil organic carbon content to soil surface area (SOC/SSA). This indicates that the OM(PY) fractions of forest soils represent layers of slower exchange not directly attached to mineral surfaces. From the isotopic composition of the OM(ER) fraction, we conclude that the OM in this fraction from both land use types have undergone a different pathway to stabilization that does not involve microbial processing, which may include OM which is highly protected within soil micro-structures.
Processes controlling the Si-isotopic composition in the Southern Ocean and application for paleoceanography
Authors: Fripiat F. , Cavagna A.-J. , Dehairs F. , de Brauwere A. , André L. , Cardinal D.
Published: October 2011

Abstract. Southern Ocean biogeochemical processes have an impact on global marine primary production and global elemental cycling, e.g. by likely controlling glacial-interglacial pCO2 variation. The natural silicon isotopic composition (δ30Si) of sedimentary biogenic silica has been used to reconstruct past Si-consumption:supply ratio in the surface waters. We present a new dataset in the Southern Ocean which includes for the first time summer δ30Si signatures of suspended biogenic silica (i) for the whole water column at three stations and (ii) in the mixed layer at seven stations from the sub-tropical zone up to the Weddell Gyre. In general, the biogenic silica isotopic composition at depth reflected a mixed layer origin and seemed not affected by any diagenetic effect in the water column, even if in the northern part of the Weddell Gyre an effect of biogenic silica dissolution cannot be ruled out. We develop a mechanistic understanding of the processes involved in the modern Si-isotopic balance, by implementing a mixed layer model. We observe that the accumulated biogenic silica (sensu Rayleigh) should satisfactorily describe the δ30Si composition of biogenic silica exported out of the mixed layer, within the limit of the current analytical precision on the δ30Si. The failures of previous models (Rayleigh and steady state) become apparent especially at the end of the productive period in the mixed layer, when biogenic silica production is low. This results from: (1) a higher biogenic silica dissolution:production ratio imposing a lower net fractionation factor and (2) a higher Si-supply:Si-uptake ratio supplying light Si-isotopes into the mixed layer. The latter effect is especially expressed when the summer mixed layer becomes strongly Si-depleted together with a large vertical silicic acid gradient.
The impact of land surface temperature on soil moisture anomaly detection from passive microwave observations
Authors: Parinussa R. M. , Holmes T. R. H. , Yilmaz M. T. , Crow W. T.
Published: October 2011

Abstract. For several years passive microwave observations have been used to retrieve soil moisture from the Earth's surface. Low frequency observations have the most sensitivity to soil moisture, therefore the current Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) and future Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP) satellite missions observe the Earth's surface in the L-band frequency. In the past, several satellite sensors such as the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-EOS (AMSR-E) and WindSat have been used to retrieve surface soil moisture using multi-channel observations obtained at higher microwave frequencies. While AMSR-E and WindSat lack an L-band channel, they are able to leverage multi-channel microwave observations to estimate additional land surface parameters. In particular, the availability of Ka-band observations allows AMSR-E and WindSat to obtain coincident surface temperature estimates required for the retrieval of surface soil moisture. In contrast, SMOS and SMAP carry only a single frequency radiometer and therefore lack an instrument suited to estimate the physical temperature of the Earth. Instead, soil moisture algorithms from these new generation satellites rely on ancillary sources of surface temperature (e.g. re-analysis or near real time data from weather prediction centres). A consequence of relying on such ancillary data is the need for temporal and spatial interpolation, which may introduce uncertainties. Here, two newly-developed, large-scale soil moisture evaluation techniques, the triple collocation (TC) approach and the Rvalue data assimilation approach, are applied to quantify the global-scale impact of replacing Ka-band based surface temperature retrievals with Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) surface temperature output on the accuracy of WindSat and AMSR-E based surface soil moisture retrievals. Results demonstrate that under sparsely vegetated conditions, the use of MERRA land surface temperature instead of Ka-band radiometric land surface temperature leads to a relative decrease in skill (on average 9.7%) of soil moisture anomaly estimates. However the situation is reversed for highly vegetated conditions where soil moisture anomaly estimates show a relative increase in skill (on average 13.7%) when using MERRA land surface temperature. In addition, a pre-processing technique to shift phase of the modelled surface temperature is shown to generally enhance the value of MERRA surface temperature estimates for soil moisture retrieval. Finally, a very high correlation (R2 = 0.95) and consistency between the two evaluation techniques lends further credibility to the obtained results.
Combined assessment and regulation on ecological land use and water demand of the river system: a case study in Luanhe River, North China
Authors: Yan D. H. , Wang G. , Wang H. , Qin T. L.
Published: October 2011

Abstract. With economic and social development, ecological water and land use of the river system were seriously misappropriated, which resulted in overall degradation of the river systems. In this study, theoretical and technical frameworks of regionalisation on the eco-environmental function of the river systems were preliminarily formulated. According to the river eco-environmental functions, Luanhe River was regionalised into four types of first-class functional areas, i.e., ecological preservation areas, habitat restoration areas, ecological buffer areas and development and utilisation areas. Combined with the main functions of all functional areas, ecological land use of the river system in Luanhe River was assessed and planned. The total area of basic ecological land use was 876.98 km2; that of restrictive ecological land use was 1745.52 km2; that of ecological land use of the river system returned from farmland was 284.25 km2; and that returned from construction land was 17.35 km2. Combined with prototype observation experiments, the average minimum ecological flow of mainstreams in upper and middle reaches of the Luanhe River was 4.896 m3 s−1 with the habitat method. The evaporation and seepage consumption of the river system in Luanhe River and vegetation consumption in riparian zones were about 133 million m3 and 145 million m3 per year, respectively. Downwards from the Panjiakou-Daheiting Reservoir system, the mainstream of the Luanhe River was the crucial reach for regulation on instream ecological water use. It was required to speed up ecological land use planning of the river system and strengthen the regulation of ecological water use in important lower reaches of the Luanhe River under the condition of competitive water demand.
Conditions for large earthquakes in a two-asperity fault model
Authors: Dragoni M. , Santini S.
Published: October 2011

Abstract. A fault with two asperities is modelled as a system made of two blocks coupled by a spring and sliding on a plane under the same values of static and dynamic friction. An analytical solution is given for the simultaneous motion of the blocks and the corresponding orbits are plotted in the phase space. It is proven that, whichever the initial state is, the long-term behaviour of the system is one of an infinite number of limit cycles, characterized by a particular pattern of forces. The region where the system is located when the blocks are stationary can be divided into narrow stripes corresponding to different orbits of the points belonging to them. This implies that the system is sensitive to perturbations and has relevant implications for a fault, which is subject to stress transfers from earthquakes generated by neighbouring faults. In this case, the fault may experience a larger earthquake, with the simultaneous failure of the two asperities, which restores a stress distribution compatible with periodic behaviour. The seismic moment associated with simultaneous asperity failure is always greater than the maximum value that can be released in a limit cycle. For strongly coupled asperities, the moment can be several times larger.
Correlation Angles and Inner Products: Application to a Problem from Physics
Authors: Towsley Adam , Pakianathan Jonathan , Douglass David H.
Published: October 2011

Covariance is used as an inner product on a formal vector space built on random variables to define measures of correlation across a set of vectors in a -dimensional space. For , one has the diameter; for , one has an area. These concepts are directly applied to correlation studies in climate science.
Characteristic Number Associated to Mass Linear Pairs
Authors: Viña Andrés
Published: October 2011

Let Δ be a Delzant polytope in ℝn and b∈ℤn. Let E denote the symplectic fibration over S2 determined by the pair (Δ,b). Under certain hypotheses, we prove the equivalence between the fact that (Δ,b) is a mass linear pair (McDuff and Tolman, 2010) and the vanishing of a characteristic number of E. Denoting by Ham(MΔ), the Hamiltonian group of the symplectic manifold defined by Δ, we determine loops in Ham(MΔ) that define infinite cyclic subgroups in π1(Ham(MΔ)) when Δ satisfies any of the following conditions: (i) it is the trapezium associated with a Hirzebruch sur-face, (ii) it is a Δp bundle over Δ1, and (iii) Δ is the truncated simplex associated with the one point blowup of ℂPn.
Cole Parameter Estimation from the Modulus of the Electrical Bioimpeadance for Assessment of Body Composition. A Full Spectroscopy Approach
Authors: Buendia R. , Gil-Pita R. , Seoane F.
Published: October 2011

Activities around applications of Electrical Bioimpedance Spectroscopy (EBIS) have proliferated in the past decade significantly. Most of these activities have been focused in the analysis of the EBIS measurements, which eventually might enable novel applications. In Body Composition Assessment (BCA), the most common analysis approach currently used in EBIS is based on the Cole function, which most often requires curve fitting. One of the most implemented approaches for obtaining the Cole parameters is performed in the impedance plane through the geometrical properties that the Cole function exhibit in such domain as depressed semi-circle. To fit the measured impedance data to a semi-circle in the impedance plane, obtaining the Cole parameters in an indirect and sequential manner has several drawbacks. Applying a Non-Linear Least Square (NLLS) iterative fitting on the spectroscopy measurement, obtains the Cole parameters considering the frequency information contained in the measurement. In this work, from experimental total right side EBIS measurements, the BCA parameters have been obtained to assess the amount and distribution of whole body fluids. The values for the BCA parameters have been obtained using values for the Cole parameters estimated with both approaches: circular fitting on the impedance plane and NLLS impedance-only fitting. The comparison of the values obtained for the BCA parameters with both methods confirms that the NLLS impedance-only is an effective alternative as Cole parameter estimation method in BCA from EBIS measurements. Using the modulus of the Cole function as the model for the fitting would eliminate the need for performing phase detection in the acquisition process, simplifying the hardware specifications of the measurement instrumentation when implementing a bioimpedance spectrometer.
High‐Energy Al/CuO Nanocomposites Obtained by DNA‐Directed Assembly
Authors: Séverac Fabrice , Alphonse Pierre , Estève Alain , Bancaud Aurélien , Rossi Carole
Published: October 2011

Over the next few years, it is expected that new, energetic, multifunctional materials will be engineered. There is a need for new methods to assemble such materials from manufactured nanopowders. In this article, we demonstrate a DNA‐directed assembly procedure to produce highly energetic nanocomposites by assembling Al and CuO nanoparticles into micrometer‐sized particles of an Al/CuO nanocomposite, which has exquisite energetic performance in comparison with its physically mixed Al/CuO counterparts. Using 80 nm Al nanoparticles, the heat of reaction and the onset temperature are 1.8 kJ g−1 and 410 °C, respectively. This experimental achievement relies on the development of simple and reliable protocols to disperse and sort metallic and metal oxide nanopowders in aqueous solution and the establishment of specific DNA surface‐modification processes for Al and CuO nanoparticles. Overall, our work, which shows that DNA can be used as a structural material to assemble Al/Al, CuO/CuO and Al/CuO composite materials, opens a route for molecular engineering of the material on the nanoscale.
Bioceramics: From Bone Regeneration to Cancer Nanomedicine
Authors: Vallet‐Regí María , Ruiz‐Hernández Eduardo
Published: October 2011

Research on biomaterials has been growing in the last few years due to the clinical needs in organs and tissues replacement and regeneration. In addition, cancer nanomedicine has recently appeared as an effective means to combine nanotechnology developments towards a clinical application.

 Ceramic materials are suitable candidates to be used in the manufacturing of bone‐like scaffolds. Bioceramic materials may also be designed to deliver biologically active substances aimed at repairing, maintaining, restoring or improving the function of organs and tissues in the organism. Several materials such as calcium phosphates, glasses and glass ceramics able to load and subsequently release in a controlled fashion drugs, hormones, growth factors, peptides or nucleic acids have been developed. In particular, to prevent post surgical infections bioceramics may be surface modified and loaded with certain antibiotics, thus preventing the formation of bacterial biofilms. Remarkably, mesoporous bioactive glasses have shown excellent characteristics as drug carrying bone regeneration materials. These bioceramics are not only osteoconductive and osteoproductive, but also osteoinductive, and have therefore been proposed as ideal components for the fabrication of scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.

 A recent promising development of bioceramic materials is related to the design of magnetic mediators against tumors. Magnetic composites are suitable thermoseeds for cancer treatment by hyperthermia. Moreover, magnetic nanomaterials offer a wide range of possibilities for diagnosis and therapy. These nanoparticles may be conjugated with therapeutic agents and heat the surrounding tissue under the action of alternating magnetic fields, enabling hyperthermia of cancer as an effective adjunct to chemotherapy regimens.
Heterogeneous and homogeneous reactions of pyrolysis vapors from pine wood
Authors: Hoekstra Elly , Westerhof Roel J. M. , Brilman Wim , Van Swaaij Wim P.M. , Kersten Sascha R. A. , Hogendoorn Kees J. A. , Windt Michael
Published: October 2011

To maximize oil yields in the fast pyrolysis of biomass it is generally accepted that vapors need to be rapidly quenched. The influence of the heterogeneous and homogeneous vapor‐phase reactions on yields and oil composition were studied using a fluidized‐bed reactor. Even high concentrations of mineral low char (till 55 vol %) appeared not to be catalytically active. However, the presence of minerals, either in biomass or added, does influence the yields, especially by the occurrence of vapor‐phase charring/polymerization reactions. Contradictory, in the absence of minerals, homogeneous vapor‐phase cracking reactions were dominant over polymerization/charring reactions (400–550°C, 1–15 s). With increasing vapor residence time, the oil yield reached an asymptotic value, which decreased with temperature. At a vapor temperature of 400°C no decrease in oil yield was observed, but dedicated analysis showed that homogeneous vapor to vapor reactions had occurred. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2012
Endoscopic verification of the sphenoid sinus
Authors: Orlandi Richard R. , Smith Brett , Shah Lubdha , Wiggins Richard H.
Published: October 2011

Background:

Differentiating between posterior ethmoid and sphenoid sinuses can be difficult endoscopically. Anatomic relationships should guide surgery, irrespective of the ability to verify them with image guidance. The authors sought to verify an anatomic landmark found to be useful during endoscopic sinus surgery: the ability to see the sphenoid floor with a 0‐degree nasal endoscope.

Methods:

The angle formed by a nasal endoscope placed at the sphenoid ostium and the mucosa of the sphenoid floor was measured in 93 consecutive sphenoid sinuses radiologically. Angles of view of 3 common endoscopes were directly measured and compared to the radiologic measurements.

Results:

The angle to the most inferior aerated portion of the sphenoid sinus averaged 113.6 degrees with a range of 77 to 145 degrees. The angle of view of the 3 endoscopes was found to be 38.1 degrees, 46.7 degrees, and 44.4 degrees. With these angles of view, the most inferior aerated portion of 100% of the radiologically assessed sinuses could not be seen with these endoscopes.

Conclusion:

Inability to see the mucosa of the floor of the sphenoid sinus with a 0‐degree nasal endoscope appears to be a reliable finding. Individual variations that may affect this finding such as hypoplasia or severe mucosal edema should be identified preoperatively on imaging. In their absence, the inability to see the floor of an entered sinus with a 0‐degree nasal endoscope provides another reliable clue to the position of the sphenoid sinus during endoscopic sinus surgery. © 2011 ARS‐AAOA, LLC.