bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Roundtable on Business Education
Authors: Wilson John F. , Locke Robert R. , Amdam Rolv Petter , Puig Nuria , Nishizawa Tamotsu
Published: December 2011

A consideration of Rakesh Khurana's From Higher Aims to Hired Hands: The Social Transformation of American Business Schools and the Unfulfilled Promise of Management as a Profession (Princeton, 2007).

Khurana's book is an examination of the development of the university-based business school in the United States from the nineteenth century to today. He asserts that while the original goal of these schools was to train a professional class of managers in the mold of doctors or lawyers, university business schools no longer strive for this ideal. Instead, Khurana believes that business schools have become purveyors of a product –the MBA–sold to student-consumers. People should therefore not be surprised at corporate misconduct when managers are considered responsible only to shareholders. Khurana calls for a renewal of the professional ideal in the business school, in which future business leaders are trained to take their place as moral leaders in society. We asked each of the following authors to comment on the book and see if business education underwent a similar transition in other countries.
Inventing the U.S. Stove Industry, c.1815–1875: Making and Selling the First Universal Consumer Durable
Authors: Harris Howell J.
Published: December 2011

This article examines the emergence of the American stove industry, detailing the complex interactions among changes in the product, the organization of production, and the methods of selling cast-iron heating and cooking equipment to consumers nationwide, particularly in the antebellum years. This highly competitive industry, composed of hundreds of proprietary firms, became a site of considerable innovation in marketing. Manufacturers integrated forward, controlling the sale and distribution of their goods through networks of small retailers nationwide. The article explains how and why.
Managing Door-to-Door Sales of Vacuum Cleaners in Interwar Britain
Authors: Scott Peter
Published: December 2011

Door-to-door selling was a key factor behind the particularly rapid interwar diffusion of vacuum cleaners among British households, relative to other “high-ticket” labor-saving appliances. Yet the door-to-door system incurred both high distribution costs and considerable controversy—owing to widespread sharp practice. Employers enticed salesmen through grossly inflated claims regarding earnings, which were in fact insufficient for most salesmen to make an acceptable living. This led many salesmen to engage in their own sharp practices—which eventually brought this form of marketing into disrepute.
Milestones in Marketing
Authors: Quelch John A. , Jocz Katherine E.
Published: December 2011

We invited John Quelch and Katherine Jocz, authors of Greater Good: How Good Marketing Makes for Better Democracy (2008), to discuss some of the articles they found most interesting and important from the past half-century of marketing journals.
Competing with Multinationals: Strategies of the Portuguese Alcohol Industry
Authors: Lopes Teresa da Silva
Published: December 2011

This study looks at the formation of multinationals and relates that process to the emergence of institutions favorable to economic growth. It compares the development of such institutions from 1960 in four European countries: the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and Portugal. The focus of the study is a global industry—alcoholic beverages—in which brands, marketing knowledge, and distribution channels have been critical. In order to understand why some nations succeed in developing multinationals and others do not, different views of the determinants of national wealth, such as trade, institutions and organizations, and corporate governance, are examined. Whereas three of the countries developed leading multinationals in alcoholic beverages, Portugal did not succeed in doing so. The study concludes that, in marketingbased industries, both the type of product and the institutional environment influence the ability of firms to become leading multinationals.
Business History in Latin America: A Historiographical Perspective
Authors: Barbero María Inés
Published: December 2011

In this survey of the trajectory of Latin American business history, the focus is on its development over the course of the past twenty years, when the discipline began to be recognized as a field of specialization within historical studies. The first section is a consideration of the origins of business history in Latin America, from the 1960s to 1985. The second section, covering 1985 to the present, is an analysis of the institutionalization of Latin American business history as research expanded and practitioners in the field began to adopt a more professional approach to their work. In the third section, the focus is on the topics that have attracted the most attention during the previous two decades, identifying research trends that have transcended national differences as well as some notable traits of Latin American business. The last section, a consideration of how Latin America can contribute both to business history and to comparative studies, concludes with proposals for a new research agenda.
Legumes intercropped with spring barley contribute to increased biomass production and carry-over effects
Authors: PAPPA V. A. , REES R. M. , WALKER R. L. , BADDELEY J. A. , WATSON C. A.
Published: December 2011

Intercropping systems that include legumes can provide symbiotically fixed nitrogen (N) and potentially increase yield through improved resource use efficiency. The aims of the present study were: (a) to evaluate the effects of different legumes (species and varieties) and barley on grain yield, dry matter production and N uptake of the intercrop treatments compared with the associated cereal sole crop; (b) to assess the effects on the yields of the next grain crop and (c) to determine the accumulation of N in shoots of the crops in a low-input rotation. An experiment was established near Edinburgh, UK, consisting of 12 hydrologically isolated plots. Treatments were a spring barley (Hordeum vulgare cvar Westminster) sole crop and intercrops of barley/white clover (Trifolium repens cvar Alice) and barley/pea (Pisum sativum cvar Zero4 or cvar Nitouche) in 2006. All the plots were sown with spring oats (Avena sativa cvar Firth) in 2007 and perennial ryegrass in 2008. No fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides were used at any stage of the experiment. Above-ground biomass (barley, clover, pea, oat and ryegrass) and grain yields (barley, pea and oat) were measured at key stages during the growing seasons of 2006, 2007 and 2008; land equivalent ratio (LER) was measured only in 2006. At harvest, the total above-ground biomass of barley intercropped with clover (4·56 t biomass/ha) and barley intercropped with pea cvar Zero4 (4·49 t biomass/ha) were significantly different from the barley sole crop (3·05 t biomass/ha; P<0·05). The grain yield of the barley (2006) intercropped with clover (3·36 t grain/ha) was significantly greater than that in the other treatments (P<0·01). The accumulation of N in barley was low in 2006, but significantly higher (P<0·05) in the oat grown the following year on the same plots. The present study demonstrates for the first time that intercrops can affect the grain yield and N uptake of the following crop (spring oats) in a rotation. Differences were also linked to the contrasting legume species and cultivars present in the previous year's intercrop. Legume choice is essential to optimize the plant productivity in intercropping designs. Cultivars chosen for intercropping purposes must take into account the effects upon the growth of the partner crop/s as well as to the following crop, including environmental factors.
A world key to the species of Anthracothecium and Pyrenula
Authors: APTROOT André
Published: December 2011

An identification key is presented for the accepted species of the lichen genera Anthracothecium (comprising 5 species) and Pyrenula (with 169 species, including 7 still undescribed). The key also contains some similar taxa and is complete for Blastodesmia (1 species), Sulcopyrenula (4 species), and Eopyrenula (6 species), but not for others such as Aptrootia, Architrypethelium, and Lithothelium, of which only the corticolous brown-spored taxa are treated. The following new combinations were found to be necessary: Anthracothecium interlatens (Nyl.) Aptroot, Pyrenula breutelii (Müll. Arg.) Aptroot, Pyrenula ceylonensis (Ajay Singh & Upreti) Aptroot, Pyrenula fusispora (Malme) Aptroot, Pyrenula gibberulosa (Vain.) Aptroot, Pyrenula lyoni (Zahlbr.) Aptroot, Pyrenula papillifera (Nyl.) Aptroot, Pyrenula platystoma (Müll. Arg.) Aptroot, Pyrenula schiffneri (Zahlbr.) Aptroot, Pyrenula welwitschii (Upreti & Ajay Singh) Aptroot, and Sulcopyrenula subglobosa (Riddle) Aptroot. Pyrenula sexluminata Aptroot is a new name for Pyrenula quinqueseptata Aptroot, and Pyrenula neosandwicensis Aptroot is a new name for Anthracothecium sandwicense Zahlbr. In addition, all known and many novel synonyms are cited, and the disposition of all other taxa in the two genera Anthracothecium (with 155 names) and Pyrenula (with 745 names) and their generic synonyms. Bogoriella was found to be an older name for Mycomicrothelia.
Mortality in first-contact psychosis patients in the UK: a cohort study
Authors: Dutta R. , Murray R. M. , Allardyce J. , Jones P. B. , Boydell J. E.
Published: December 2011

Background

The excess mortality following first-contact psychosis is well recognized. However, the causes of death in a complete incidence cohort and mortality patterns over time compared with the general population are unknown.

Method

All 2723 patients who presented for the first time with psychosis in three defined catchment areas of the UK in London (1965–2004, n=2056), Nottingham (1997–1999, n=203) and Dumfries and Galloway (1979–1998, n=464) were traced after a mean of 11.5 years follow-up and death certificates were obtained. Data analysis was by indirect standardization.

Results

The overall standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for first-contact psychosis was 184 [95% confidence interval (CI) 167–202]. Most deaths (84.2%, 374/444) were from natural causes, although suicide had the highest SMR (1165, 95% CI 873–1524). Diseases of the respiratory system and infectious diseases had the highest SMR of the natural causes of death (232, 95% CI 183–291). The risk of death from diseases of the circulatory system was also elevated compared with the general population (SMR 139, 95% CI 117–164) whereas there was no such difference for neoplasms (SMR 111, 95% CI 86–141). There was strong evidence that the mortality gap compared with the general population for all causes of death (p<0.001) and all natural causes (p=0.01) increased over the four decades of the study. There was weak evidence that cardiovascular deaths may be increasing relative to the general population (p=0.07).

Conclusions

People with first-contact psychosis have an overall mortality risk that is nearly double that of the general population. Most excess deaths are from natural causes. The widening of the mortality gap over the last four decades should be of concern to all clinicians involved in delivering healthcare.
Negative ion treatment increases positive emotional processing in seasonal affective disorder
Authors: Harmer C. J. , Charles M. , McTavish S. , Favaron E. , Cowen P. J.
Published: December 2011

Background

Antidepressant drug treatments increase the processing of positive compared to negative affective information early in treatment. Such effects have been hypothesized to play a key role in the development of later therapeutic responses to treatment. However, it is unknown whether these effects are a common mechanism of action for different treatment modalities. High-density negative ion (HDNI) treatment is an environmental manipulation that has efficacy in randomized clinical trials in seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Method

The current study investigated whether a single session of HDNI treatment could reverse negative affective biases seen in seasonal depression using a battery of emotional processing tasks in a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized study.

Results

Under placebo conditions, participants with seasonal mood disturbance showed reduced recognition of happy facial expressions, increased recognition memory for negative personality characteristics and increased vigilance to masked presentation of negative words in a dot-probe task compared to matched healthy controls. Negative ion treatment increased the recognition of positive compared to negative facial expression and improved vigilance to unmasked stimuli across participants with seasonal depression and healthy controls. Negative ion treatment also improved recognition memory for positive information in the SAD group alone. These effects were seen in the absence of changes in subjective state or mood.

Conclusions

These results are consistent with the hypothesis that early change in emotional processing may be an important mechanism for treatment action in depression and suggest that these effects are also apparent with negative ion treatment in seasonal depression.
Abstract knowledge of word order by 19 months: An eye-tracking study
Authors: FRANCK JULIE , MILLOTTE SEVERINE , POSADA ANDRES , RIZZI LUIGI
Published: December 2011

Word order is one of the earliest aspects of grammar that the child acquires, because her early utterances already respect the basic word order of the target language. However, the question of the nature of early syntactic representations is subject to debate. Approaches inspired by formal syntax assume that the head–complement order, differentiating verb–object and object–verb languages, is represented very early on in an abstract, rulelike format. In contrast, constructivist theories assume that it is initially encoded as lexicalized, verb-specific knowledge. In order to address this issue experimentally, we combined the preferential looking paradigm using pseudoverbs with the weird word order paradigm adapted to comprehension. The results, based on highly reliable, coder-independent eye-tracking measures, provide the first direct evidence that as early as 19 months French-speaking infants have an abstract representation of the word order of their language.
Senior citizens and political participation – evidence from a Finnish regional study
Authors: NYGÅRD MIKAEL , JAKOBSSON GUNBORG
Published: December 2011

The aim is to analyse political participation among senior citizens in the West-Finnish region Österbotten/Pohjanmaa by using data from the 2005 GERDA (gerontological regional database) survey. The first research question related to patterns of political participation and the extent to which older people in this region engage in voting and non-institutionalised forms of participation. Secondly, the driving forces behind different dimensions of participation were assessed on an individual level by using a modified variant of the civic voluntarism model as suggested by Verba and colleagues. The results show a high propensity to vote among elders in this region, but they also suggest that so-called non-institutionalised participation is likely to become more common in the future. Moreover, even though the results support the so-called resource theory of political participation, the fit of the multivariate models were modest, which necessitates further research in order to understand fully the driving forces behind political participation of older people in this specific region.
Excitation of ion Bernstein and ion cyclotron waves by a gyrating ion beam in a plasma column
Authors: Kumar Asheel , Tripathi V.K.
Published: December 2011

Gyrating ion beams, produced by quick ionization of neutral beams, employed for plasma heating, are susceptible to ion Bernstein and ion cyclotron instabilities. The Bernstein wave, having large parallel phase velocity, is excited via cyclotron interaction whereas the ion cyclotron wave with lower parallel phase velocity could be driven by Cerenkov interaction as well. The maximally growing modes have transverse wave number of the order of inverse ion Larmor radius. The nonlocal effects cause reduction in the growth rate.
Terminal Suffering and the Ethics of Palliative Sedation
Authors: RICH BEN A.
Published: December 2011

Until quite recently bioethicists have had little of depth and probity to say about the duty of healthcare professionals in general and physicians in particular to relieve pain and suffering associated with disease and/or its treatment.
In Defense of Ectogenesis
Authors: SMAJDOR ANNA
Published: December 2011

In his article “Research Priorities and the Future of Pregnancy” in this issue of CQ, Timothy Murphy evaluates some of the arguments I advanced in an earlier publication, “The Moral Imperative for Ectogenesis.
Resuscitation and Extracorporeal Life Support during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation following the Norwood (Stage 1) operation
Authors: Dalton Heidi J. , Tucker Dawn
Published: December 2011

The success of extracorporeal support in providing cardiopulmonary support for a variety of patients has led to use of Extracorporeal Life Support, also known as ECLS, as a rescue for patients failing conventional resuscitation. The use of Extracorporeal Life Support in circumstances of cardiac arrest has come to be termed “Extracorporeal Life Support during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation” or “ECPR”. Although Extracorporeal Life Support during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation was originally described in patients following repair of congenital cardiac defects who suffered a sudden arrest, it has now been used in a variety of circumstances for patients both with and without primary cardiac disease. Multiple centres have reported successful use of Extracorporeal Life Support during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in adults and children. However, because of the cost, the complexity of the technique, and the resources required, Extracorporeal Life Support during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is not offered in all centres for paediatric patients with refractory cardiac arrest. The increasing success and availability of Extracorporeal Life Support during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in post-operative cardiac patients, coupled with the fact that patients undergoing the Norwood (Stage 1) operation can have rapid, unpredictable cardiac deterioration and arrest, has led to a steady increase in the use of Extracorporeal Life Support during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in this population. For Extracorporeal Life Support during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation to be most successful, it must be deployed rapidly while the patient is undergoing excellent cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Early activation of the team that will perform cannulation could possibly shorten the duration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and might improve survival and outcome. More research needs to be done to refine the populations and circumstances that offer the best outcome with Extracorporeal Life Support during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, to evaluate the ratios of cost to benefit, and establish the long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes in survivors.
Informed consent,bioethical equipoise, and hypoplastic left heart syndrome
Authors: Mavroudis Constantine , Mavroudis Constantine D. , Farrell Ruth M. , Jacobs Marshall L. , Jacobs Jeffrey P. , Kodish Eric D.
Published: December 2011

In utero diagnosis of complex progressive cardiac disease such as hypoplastic left heart syndrome presents a novel opportunity for antepartum, intrapartum, and neonatal management. The clinical possibilities and potential for differing outcomes challenge the mother–foetus dyad with regard to informed consent. Previous studies reveal that rates of termination of pregnancy for foetuses with hypoplastic left heart syndrome vary widely in the United States and Europe, leading us to surmise that informed consent may be practised differently. The purpose of this paper is to review the ethical considerations and physician responsibilities of informed consent as they relate to prenatal and postnatal patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Special consideration is paid to the informed consent process as practised by the obstetrician, perinatologist, paediatric cardiologist, and paediatric cardiac surgeon as it relates to termination of pregnancy, comfort care, and surgical palliation. We will argue that informed consent as it relates to hypoplastic left heart syndrome is far from standardised and that there exists a state ofbioethical equipoiseconcerning the extent and limits of its application in the current clinical setting.
Joint programmes in paediatric cardiothoracic surgery: a survey and descriptive analysis
Authors: DeCampli William M.
Published: December 2011

Background

Joint programmes, as opposed to regionalisation of paediatric cardiac care, may improve outcomes while preserving accessibility. We determined the prevalence and nature of joint programmes.

Methods

We sent an online survey to 125 paediatric cardiac surgeons in the United States in November, 2009 querying the past or present existence of a joint programme, its mission, structure, function, and perceived success.

Results

A total of 65 surgeon responses from 65 institutions met the criteria for inclusion. Of the 65 institutions, 22 currently or previously conducted a joint programme. Compared with primary institutions, partner institutions were less often children's hospitals (p = 0.0004), had fewer paediatric beds (p = 0.005), and performed fewer cardiac cases (p = 0.03). Approximately 47% of partner hospitals performed fewer than 50 cases per year. The median distance range between hospitals was 41–60 miles, ranging from 5 to 1000 miles. Approximately 54% of partner hospitals had no surgeon working primarily on-site, and 31% of the programmes conducted joint conferences. Approximately 67% of the programmes limited the complexity of cases at the partner hospital, and 83% of the programmes had formal contracts between hospitals. Of the six programmes whose main mission was to increase referrals to the primary hospital, three were felt to have failed. Of the nine programmes whose mission was to increase regional quality, eight were felt to be successful.

Conclusion

Joint programmes in paediatric cardiac surgery are common but are heterogeneous in structure and function. Programmes whose mission is to improve the quality of regional care seem more likely to succeed. Joint programmes may be a practical alternative to regionalisation to achieve better outcomes.
Carbon storage assessment of U.S. Great Plains relies on data from Landsat and other sources
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: December 2011

A new assessment of carbon storage in the U.S. Great Plains region helps to improve the understanding of carbon and greenhouse gas fluxes in parts of 14 states. It is the first of a series of such assessments, with the entire national assessment set for completion around 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced at a 6 December press briefing at the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif. The assessment, based on measured and observed data collected by USGS from Landsat and other sources, also indicates the value of the troubled Landsat satellites, according to USGS director Marcia McNutt. The assessment of the 2.17‐million‐square‐kilometer region of the country, which contains a number of different ecosystems, examines carbon storage as well as carbon, methane, and nitrous oxide fluxes in all terrestrial ecosystems in the region during a baseline period. Projections of these fluxes also were extended to 2050. The report was carried out to fulfill a section of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
Scientists detect shift in Arctic Ocean system
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: December 2011

The Arctic Ocean system has shifted to a “new normal” since 2006, and there are now a sufficient number of years of data to indicate this shift, according to a new Arctic Report Card. The report card, issued on 1 December by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, other agencies, and an international team of researchers, indicates that 2011 saw significant changes to the Arctic atmosphere, sea ice and ocean, and hydrology and terrestrial cryosphere, as well as some changes to Arctic marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and this shift has widespread environmental and social implications. The report refers to 2006 because precursors that year led to dramatic sea ice loss in 2007. “The shift is characterized by the persistent decline in the thickness and summer extent of the sea ice cover and a warmer, fresher upper ocean,” according to the report, which also indicates a repeated occurrence of 2010 Arctic winter wind patterns this year that are different from the norm, among other concerns. “The 2011 report card shows that record‐setting changes are occurring throughout the Arctic environmental system. Given the projection of continued global warming, it is very likely that major Arctic changes will continue in years to come, with increasing climatic, biological, and social impacts,” the report indicates.
Using cosmogenic nuclides to quantify pebble abrasion in rivers
Authors: Balcerak Ernie
Published: December 2011

Sediment transport drives channel erosion and shaping of rivers, so understanding sediment dynamics is a key factor in understanding landscape evolution. Rates of river bedrock erosion depend on the properties of sediment transport, including the grain size distribution of transported sediment and the speed at which sediment moves. However, scientists' knowledge of sediment transport in rivers over long time periods or long distances is limited because there are few methods of observing grain transport over long distances or time scales. Carretier and Regard show that the concentrations of cosmogenic radionuclides in pebbles vary during river transport.
Statistical model predicts shoreline erosion rates due to sea level rise
Authors: Schultz Colin
Published: December 2011

While sea level rise in the face of global warming is a well‐acknowledged threat, providing estimates of the local impact—the information needed by planners to develop effective strategies against the rising waters—has been difficult. Many attempts treat the global ocean as a giant bathtub, where increased water volume simply rises up and floods the land. Understandably, these approaches fall short of accurately estimating the impact of storms, sea level rise, and human influence on coastlines. The next extension toward an accurate longterm prediction of shoreline change necessarily includes a representation of the dynamic interaction between coastal features and the rising water.
Insignificant change in Antarctic snowmelt volume since 1979
Authors: Kuipers Munneke P. , Picard G. , van den Broeke M. R. , Lenaerts J. T. M. , van Meijgaard E.
Published: December 2011

Surface snowmelt is widespread in coastal Antarctica. Satellite‐based microwave sensors have been observing melt area and duration for over three decades. However, these observations do not reveal the total volume of meltwater produced on the ice sheet. Here we present an Antarctic melt volume climatology for the period 1979–2010, obtained using a regional climate model equipped with realistic snow physics. We find that mean continent‐wide meltwater volume (1979–2010) amounts to 89 Gt y−1 with large interannual variability (σ = 41 Gt y−1). Of this amount, 57 Gt y−1 (64%) is produced on the floating ice shelves extending from the grounded ice sheet, and 71 Gt y−1in West‐Antarctica, including the Antarctic Peninsula. We find no statistically significant trend in either continent‐wide or regional meltwater volume for the 31‐year period 1979–2010.
A statistical comparison of solar wind propagation delays derived from multispacecraft techniques
Authors: Case N. A. , Wild J. A.
Published: December 2011

We present a large‐scale statistical study of the solar wind propagation delay between NASA's Advanced Composition Explorer spacecraft and ESA's Cluster 1 spacecraft. This study focuses on those periods when Cluster was within the unimpeded solar wind, upstream of the bow shock nose, between 2001 and 2010. Using a cross‐correlation method to compare the ACE and Cluster data, nearly 5000 propagation delays have been calculated and compared to both corresponding propagation delays in the OMNIweb data set and to those computed by a simple “flat” (i.e. distance/speed) propagation model. The results show that statistically there is little difference between the OMNI and flat propagation delay times and that the cross‐correlation method agrees well with both, but there are times when the various methods give significantly different propagation estimates. There is found to be no influence on the relationship between the estimated and observed solar wind propagation delays from the solar wind speed or IMF orientation.
The Baltic Sea Tracer Release Experiment: 2. Mixing processes
Authors: Holtermann Peter L. , Umlauf Lars
Published: December 2011

Deep water mixing processes in the largest basin of the Baltic Sea (Gotland Basin) are investigated here with the help of long‐term moored instrumentation and turbulence microstructure measurements. Budgets for heat and salinity reveal a strong temporal variability in the deep water mixing coefficients that is shown to be coupled to the wind forcing down to time scales of individual wind events. Consistent with the results from a simultaneously conducted tracer release experiment, near‐boundary turbulence was identified as the key processes for basin‐scale mixing. Turbulent bottom boundary layers were found to be thick and stable in the flat, deep part of the basin, where highest dissipation rates were observed, and comparatively thin, less energetic, and highly variable on the slopes due to a permanent tendency for boundary layer restratification. In the absence of internal tides, strongly damped basin‐scale topographic waves with periods of a few days, a deep rim current, and, to a smaller extent, near‐inertial waves were identified as the main energy sources for boundary mixing. These results are likely to be relevant also for other medium‐sized stratified basins.
Modeling of gas and aerosol with WRF/Chem over Europe: Evaluation and sensitivity study
Authors: Tuccella Paolo , Curci Gabriele , Visconti Guido , Bessagnet Bertrand , Menut Laurent , Park Rokjin J.
Published: December 2011

The “online” meteorological and chemical transport Weather Research and Forecasting/Chemistry (WRF/Chem) model has been implemented over a European domain, run without aerosol‐cloud feedbacks for the year 2007, and validated against ground‐based observations. To this end, we integrated the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) anthropogenic emission inventory into the model pre‐processor. The simulated average temperature shows a very small negative bias, the relative humidity and the wind speed are overpredicted by 1.5% (8%) and 1.0 m/s (76%), respectively. Hourly ozone (O3) exhibits a correlation with observations of 0.62 and daily maxima are underestimated by about 4%. A general ozone underestimation (overestimation) is found in spring (fall), probably related to misrepresentation of intercontinental transport with time‐invariant boundary conditions. Daily nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is reproduced within ±15% with a correlation of 0.57. Daily PM2.5 aerosol mass shows mean bias of about −4.0 μg/m3 (−7.3%), mainly attributable to the carbonaceous fraction. The model underpredicts particulate sulphate by a factor of 2, and overpredicts ammonium and nitrate by about factor of 2. Possible reasons for this bias are investigated with sensitivity tests and revealed that the aqueous phase oxidation of sulphur dioxide (SO2) by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and O3, missing in the configuration of WRF/Chem without aerosol‐cloud feedbacks, explains the discrepancy.
Effect of an extratropical mesoscale convective system on water vapor transport in the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere: A modeling study
Authors: Le Thien V. , Gallus William A.
Published: December 2011

North American Model (NAM) analysis data and the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Advanced Research WRF (ARW) model version 2.2 are used to investigate the effect of a mesoscale convective system (MCS) in extratropical regions on the transport of water vapor in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS). In addition, physical mechanisms contributing most to the water vapor distribution in the UTLS and the amount of water vapor transported during the most active period of the convective system are examined. In an MCS occurring over the Midwest, the primary focus of the present study, simulated by WRF on 13–14 July 2006, hourly water vapor amount averaged near the system in the UTLS increased substantially during the time that convective system activity developed, and reached maximum values at the same time that the strongest convection and heaviest precipitation occurred at the surface. In the upper troposphere, large positive hourly water vapor tendencies were mainly due to vertical advection with highest rates at the time of highest rain rates. Water vapor tendencies due to microphysical processes tended to oppose the moistening due to advection. Near the tropopause and in the lower stratosphere, however, positive hourly water vapor tendencies were primarily due to microphysics and mixing within the MCS. Horizontal advection also transported some moisture in regions downstream from the MCS at most times, with the largest impacts later in the MCS lifetime. Around the tropopause, microphysical processes related to the presence of convectively injected ice appeared to be the largest contributor to moistening for this case. The results were not found to be sensitive to model microphysical schemes.
Multiscale assimilation of Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer–EOS snow water equivalent and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer snow cover fraction observations in northern Colorado
Authors: De Lannoy Gabriëlle J. M. , Reichle Rolf H. , Arsenault Kristi R. , Houser Paul R. , Kumar Sujay , Verhoest Niko E. C. , Pauwels Valentijn R. N.
Published: December 2011

Eight years (2002–2010) of Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer–EOS (AMSR‐E) snow water equivalent (SWE) retrievals and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) snow cover fraction (SCF) observations are assimilated separately or jointly into the Noah land surface model over a domain in Northern Colorado. A multiscale ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) is used, supplemented with a rule‐based update. The satellite data are either left unscaled or are scaled for anomaly assimilation. The results are validated against in situ observations at 14 high‐elevation Snowpack Telemetry (SNOTEL) sites with typically deep snow and at 4 lower‐elevation Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) sites. Assimilation of coarse‐scale AMSR‐E SWE and fine‐scale MODIS SCF observations both result in realistic spatial SWE patterns. At COOP sites with shallow snowpacks, AMSR‐E SWE and MODIS SCF data assimilation are beneficial separately, and joint SWE and SCF assimilation yields significantly improved root‐mean‐square error and correlation values for scaled and unscaled data assimilation. In areas of deep snow where the SNOTEL sites are located, however, AMSR‐E retrievals are typically biased low and assimilation without prior scaling leads to degraded SWE estimates. Anomaly SWE assimilation could not improve the interannual SWE variations in the assimilation results because the AMSR‐E retrievals lack realistic interannual variability in deep snowpacks. SCF assimilation has only a marginal impact at the SNOTEL locations because these sites experience extended periods of near‐complete snow cover. Across all sites, SCF assimilation improves the timing of the onset of the snow season but without a net improvement of SWE amounts.
Escalation in Global Outsourcing Projects: The XperTrans–C&C BPO Case
Authors: Kovasznai Dorottya , Willcocks Leslie
Published: December 2011

This case concerns a one billion (US) dollar 10-year global outsourcing project signed in 2007 to outsource major parts of the human resource (HR) function of a major multinational company. The client and supplier embarked on a large-scale implementation plan and ran into difficulties on meeting deadlines and delivering the systems required. The case focuses on the step-by-step phased roll-out in the client's Europe, Middle East and Africa region covering 44 countries. The case follows the many attempts to stabilise and deliver the project. In June 2010, the supplier sold its HR line of business to another supplier, which became responsible for the project. The case documents the strategy, governance, project management and escalation issues to March 2011, and asks questions about the practices exhibited so far, and future decisions on strategic sourcing, project management, de-escalating the problems and the retained capabilities needed by the client.
A theory of social imitation
Authors: Callen Earl , Shapero Don
Published: December 2011

Buridan, the French religious philosopher, is credited (probably falsely) with describing an ass standing midway between two identical bales of hay: Being French, and therefore cool and logical, the ass starved to death, because there was no way to decide which bale to eat first. Only philosophical asses behave in that way. Animals, like magnets, break symmetry, especially animals in groups. We shall discuss some examples of such antisymmetric behavior and see whether it can be described quantitatively, similarly to the way we describe magnetism.
The compact neutron spectrometer at ASDEX Upgrade
Authors: Giacomelli L. , Zimbal A. , Tittelmeier K. , Schuhmacher H. , Tardini G. , Neu R. ,   ASDEX Upgrade Team
Published: December 2011

The first neutron spectrometer of ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) was installed in November 2008. It is a compact neutron spectrometer (CNS) based on a BC501A liquid scintillating detector, which can simultaneously measure 2.45-MeV and 14-MeV neutrons emitted from deuterium (D) plasmas and γ radiation. The scintillating detector is coupled to a digital pulse shape discrimination data acquisition (DPSD) system capable of count rates up to 106 s−1. The DPSD system can operate in acquisition and processing mode. With the latter n-γ discrimination is performed off-line based on the two-gate method. The paper describes the tests of the CNS and its installation at AUG. The neutron emission from the D plasma measured during a discharge with high auxiliary heating power was used to validate the CNS performance. The study of the optimal settings for the DPSD data processing to maximize the n-γ discrimination capability of the CNS is reported. The CNS measured both 2.45-MeV and 14-MeV neutrons emitted in AUG D plasmas with a maximum count rate of 5.4 ×105 s−1 (>10 times higher than similar spectrometers previously achieved) with an efficiency of 9.3 × 10−10 events per AUG neutron.
Gate voltage induced spin-filtering effect in a junction based on zigzag graphene nanoribbons
Authors: Liu Fei , Li Yunlu , Liu Xiaoyan , Kang Jinfeng
Published: December 2011

The spin polarized electronic transport in a junction based on ferromagnetic (FM) zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) is investigated by means of the non-equilibrium Green function technique within the mean field Hubbard model. By applying a step-like potential, the spin polarized current can be got, since the band structures of two spin states in FM ZGNRs are non-degenerate and the coherent electron transport obeys the band selective rule. The junction works as a spin-filter and the spin-filtering efficiency can reach the value 100%.
Effect of flow-geometry on turbulence-scalar interaction in premixed flames
Authors: Minamoto Y. , Fukushima N. , Tanahashi M. , Miyauchi T. , Dunstan T. D. , Swaminathan N.
Published: December 2011

Turbulent combustion of stoichiometric hydrogen-air mixture is simulated using direct numerical simulation methodology, employing complex chemical kinetics. Two flame configurations, freely propagating and V-flames stabilized behind a hot rod, are simulated. The results are analyzed to study the influence of flame configuration on the turbulence-scalar interaction, which is critical for the scalar gradient generation processes. The result suggests that this interaction process is not influenced by the flame configuration and the flame normal is found to align with the most extensive strain in the region of intense heat release. The combustion in the rod stabilized flame is found to be flamelet like in an average sense and the growth of flame-brush thickness with the downstream distance is represented well by Taylor theory of turbulent diffusion, when the flame-brushes are non-interacting. The thickness is observed to saturate when the flame-brushes interact, which is found to occur in the simulated rod stabilized flame with Taylor micro-scale Reynolds number of 97.
GaAs nanostructuring by self-organized stencil mask ion lithography
Authors: Zhang Z. Q. , Chiappe D. , Toma A. , Boragno C. , Guo J. D. , Wang E. G. , Buatier de Mongeot F.
Published: December 2011

We report on nanoscale patterning of GaAs (100) semiconductor substrates employing an ion projection through a self-organized stencil mask. The nanostructured mask, formed by ion beam sputtering of a polycrystalline Au film, allows driving the GaAs morphology strongly out of equilibrium. In a second stage, after the stencil mask is removed, we quantitatively follow the dynamical evolution of the forced system toward equilibrium by analyzing the evolution of the power spectral density of the height profiles and their slope and curvature distribution. Strong differences are observed by comparing the relaxation dynamics of GaAs surfaces which tend to smoothen with that of glass, a material which instead tends to non-linearly amplify the pattern once driven out of equilibrium by the stencil mask.
Signature of strong ferromagnetism and optical properties of Co doped TiO2 nanoparticles
Authors: Santara Batakrushna , Pal Bappaditya , Giri P. K.
Published: December 2011

We report on the high temperature ferromagnetism of Co doped TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) grown by a ball milling method with two different Co concentrations (3% and 8%). We also investigated the structural and optical properties of as-grown NPs to identify the defects which are responsible for the observed ferromagnetism (FM) at and above room temperature (RT). The obtained NPs of sizes 35–50 nm were identified as the anatase TiO2 structure with no signature of Co-cluster or any other oxides of Co by x-ray diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis. Raman scattering was employed to observe the defect related shifting and broadening of most intense Eg(1) mode at 142 cm−1 and higher frequency Eg(3) mode at 638 cm−1. UV-visible absorption spectra show that the incorporation of Co into the TiO2 lattice leads to redshift in the optical response, as well as lowering of bandgap energy. Photoluminescence study further confirms the doping of Co atoms into the TiO2 lattice as evidenced by redshifting of the band edge emission peak. The ferromagnetic behavior was clearly observed at room temperature in doped samples with saturation magnetization (Ms) of the order of 2.79–7.39 emu/g depending on the dopant concentrations. Importantly, the saturation magnetization is found to be decreased when the samples were post-annealed at 300 °C in air atmosphere, which might be due to reduction of oxygen vacancies in TiO2. Temperature dependence magnetization (M-T) shows sharp ferromagnetic to paramagnetic transition with a high Curie temperature (Tc) of ∼793 K for 3% doped NPs, whereas 8% doped sample does not exhibit a sharp magnetic transition. We believe that the observed FM at and above RT is most probably associated with defects related to oxygen vacancies.
Electrostatic embedding in large-scale first principles quantum mechanical calculations on biomolecules
Authors: Fox Stephen J. , Pittock Chris , Fox Thomas , Tautermann Christofer S. , Malcolm Noj , Skylaris Chris-Kriton
Published: December 2011

Biomolecular simulations with atomistic detail are often required to describe interactions with chemical accuracy for applications such as the calculation of free energies of binding or chemical reactions in enzymes. Force fields are typically used for this task but these rely on extensive parameterisation which in cases can lead to limited accuracy and transferability, for example for ligands with unusual functional groups. These limitations can be overcome with first principles calculations with methods such as density functional theory (DFT) but at a much higher computational cost. The use of electrostatic embedding can significantly reduce this cost by representing a portion of the simulated system in terms of highly localised charge distributions. These classical charge distributions are electrostatically coupled with the quantum system and represent the effect of the environment in which the quantum system is embedded. In this paper we describe and evaluate such an embedding scheme in which the polarisation of the electronic density by the embedding charges occurs self-consistently during the calculation of the density. We have implemented this scheme in a linear-scaling DFT program as our aim is to treat with DFT entire biomolecules (such as proteins) and large portions of the solvent. We test this approach in the calculation of interaction energies of ligands with biomolecules and solvent and investigate under what conditions these can be obtained with the same level of accuracy as when the entire system is described by DFT, for a variety of neutral and charged species.
Dynamics of colloidal particles in ice
Authors: Spannuth Melissa , Mochrie S. G. J. , Peppin S. S. L. , Wettlaufer J. S.
Published: December 2011

We use x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) to probe the dynamics of colloidal particles in polycrystalline ice. During freezing, the dendritic ice morphology and rejection of particles from the ice created regions of high particle density, where some of the colloids were forced into contact and formed disordered aggregates. The particles in these high density regions underwent ballistic motion, with a characteristic velocity that increased with temperature. This ballistic motion is coupled with both stretched and compressed exponential decays of the intensity autocorrelation function. We suggest that this behavior could result from ice grain boundary migration.
Transient cage formation around hot gold colloids dispersed in polymer solutions
Authors: Schwaiger F. , Zimmermann W. , Köhler W.
Published: December 2011

Gold colloids dispersed in dilute to concentrated polymer solutions can efficiently be heated by laser irradiation and act as almost pointlike heat sources. In systems with positive Soret coefficients ST of the polymer, such as solutions of polystyrene in toluene, the polymer can almost entirely be removed from the particle surface. The colloid attracts the solvent and a transient cage of low viscosity and dramatically enhanced mobility is formed, which follows the motion of the particle with a certain retardation. Based on a complete parameterization of ST(M, c, T), we analyze in detail the stationary temperature, concentration, and viscosity profiles. Depending on the polymer molar mass and concentration on the distance to the glass transition temperature, the negative or positive feedback-loops are established that lead to either attenuation or self-amplification of the polymer depletion.