bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Three‐Dimensional Network Mesoporous Nanostructured α‐Manganese Dioxide with High Supercapacitive Performance: Facile, Environmental and Large‐Scale Synthesis
Authors: Yu Li‐Li , Zhu Jun‐Jie , Zhao Jing‐Tai
Published: June 2013

Mesoporous nanostructured α‐manganese dioxide (MN‐α‐MnO2) powders in a sponge‐like three‐dimensional network have been successfully synthesized in high yields in a simple, template‐free manner at room temperature. Its unique structure has been found to be related to the glucose solution rather than to the KMnO4 solution. A possible mechanism for the formation of MN‐α‐MnO2 by the oxidation of MnO2 precursors cross‐linked by glucose networks is proposed that is supported by experimental results. The electrochemical studies showed that MN‐α‐MnO2 exhibits good electrochemical properties in 1 M Na2SO4 due to its high specific surface area (ca. 220 m2 g–1) and proper pore size distributions (ca. 5 nm), which indicates that it has potential for use as a high‐performance supercapacitor due to its good electrochemical performance, low cost and environmental friendliness.
Domino Reaction of Iodoglycosides: Synthesis of Carbohydrate‐Based Nitroalkenes
Authors: Soengas Raquel G. , Silva Artur M. S.
Published: June 2013

Herein we describe a tandem fragmentation/Henry reaction of iodoglycosides, which involves formation of a carbon–carbon double bond and a carbon–carbon single bond. If the fragmentation of methyl 5‐iodo‐D‐ribofuranoside is mediated by zinc/catalytic indium in the presence of bromonitromethane, a separable mixture of a 1‐nitro‐5‐hexene and a 1‐bromo‐1‐nitro‐5‐hexene is obtained in moderate yields with good diastereoselectivities. However, if the reaction is mediated by nBuLi in the presence of nitromethane, the corresponding 1‐nitro‐5‐hexene is obtained as the only product in excellent yield and stereoselectivity in a one‐pot synthetic protocol. This is a general methodology that can be applied to iodopyranoses and iodofuranoses with different protecting groups for the efficient preparation of highly functionalized 1‐nitro‐5‐hexenes or 1‐nitro‐6‐heptenes.
Three‐Component Synthesis of Indanone‐Fused Spirooxindole Derivatives
Authors: Chen Xue‐Bing , Liu Xi‐Ming , Huang Rong , Yan Sheng‐Jiao , Lin Jun
Published: June 2013

A simple, straightforward and versatile multicomponent protocol for the synthesis of indanone‐fused spirooxindole derivatives has been developed. The strategy involves the one‐pot three‐component reaction of heterocyclic ketene aminals, 1H‐indene‐1,3(2H)‐dione and the dicarbonyl compounds isatins or acenaphthenequinone in an ethanol/water medium catalysed by p‐TSA at reflux. Mild reaction conditions, operational simplicity, wide substrate scope and overall excellent yields make this method highly efficient for the library synthesis of indanone‐fused spirooxindole.
Presenting Analytical Performances of Electrochemical Sensors. Some Suggestions
Authors: Desimoni Elio , Brunetti Barbara
Published: June 2013

A description of the performances of new electrochemical sensors is important for evaluating their novelty and potential applicability to the analysis of real samples. However, it was noticed that quite often some figures of merit were ill‐defined or reported in an inadequate format. Based on some well‐known books and guidelines, some simple approaches are briefly reviewed which allow a better estimation of the most frequently reported figures of merit. Adopting these approaches implies a certain increase of cost and time of the given investigations. But the results would benefit from an easier acceptance by the scientific community.
Assessing adequacy of spectrum‐matched ground motions for response history analysis
Authors: Grant Damian N. , Diaferia Riccardo
Published: June 2013

Response spectrum matching is commonly used to generate ground motions with response spectra matching a scenario target spectrum. There is some debate in the literature about whether spectrum‐matched motions lead to biased structural analysis results. Furthermore, there are no objective, quantitative criteria available for deciding whether a ground motion has been manipulated excessively by spectrum matching, and whether large modification may also lead to bias. This study investigates both of these issues by presenting the results of structural analysis using two reinforced concrete moment frame models and two earthquake scenarios, with suites of unmatched and matched ground motions. Through comparison with a robust benchmark, it is shown that no significant bias is introduced by spectrum matching. The period range and target damping values for matching are also investigated, and matching up to three times the fundamental period is shown to be beneficial in reducing dispersion in the results. Finally, these analyses were also used to investigate whether large changes in the ground motion lead to biased analysis results. Several potential measures of change are investigated, including those based on peak absolute ground motion, cumulative squared ground motion (absolute or normalized), and input energy into single‐degree‐of‐freedom systems. Although no systematic, statistically significant correlation is found for the analysis results in terms of any of these measures of change, tentative criteria are proposed, which may be used by analysts to aid in the decision of whether to accept or reject a spectrum‐matched motion. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Implementation of all‐Mach Roe‐type schemes in fully implicit CFD solvers – demonstration for wind turbine flows
Authors: Carrión M. , Woodgate M. , Steijl R. , Barakos G.
Published: June 2013

This paper presents the implementation of all‐Mach Roe‐type schemes in a fully implicit CFD solver. Simple 2D cases, such as the flow around inviscid and viscous aerofoils, were used for an initial validation of these methods, along with more challenging computations consisting of the 3D flow around the Model Experiments in Controlled Conditions wind turbine, in parked and rotating conditions. This work is motivated by the increased interest of the wind turbine industry in larger diameter wind turbines where compressibility effects near the blade tips may be important. Instead of using an incompressible flow solver, this paper explores the option of modifying an existing, efficient, compressible flow solver for use at lower Mach numbers. The good performance of the Roe solver and its popularity influenced the selection of schemes for this work. The results suggest that effective all‐Mach solutions are possible with implicit solvers, and the paper defines the implementation of the new fluxes and Jacobian, including an investigation of some numerical parameters, using as platform the Helicopter Multi‐Block solver of Liverpool University. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Numerical and Experimental Verification of the Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Performances Enhanced by Under‐Rib Convection
Authors: Park K. , Kim H.‐M. , Choi K.‐S.
Published: June 2013

Understanding the current density distributions in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) is crucial for designing cell components, such as the flow field of bipolar plates. A new serpentine flow field equipped with sub‐channels and by‐passes (SFFSB) was numerically and experimentally confirmed to enhance the reactant transport rates and liquid removal efficiency compared with a conventional advanced serpentine flow field (CASFF). Consequently, the maximum current and the power densities of the SFFSB were increased due to the promotion of under‐rib convection. In this study, current density distributions are measured under transient conditions to verify the PEFC performances enhanced by under‐rib convection. The current density distributions of the SFFSB are compared with those of the CASFF. The results show that the SFFSB has a higher local current density and a more uniform distribution than the CASFF, therefore, the PEFC performances with the new flow field of SFFSB is enhanced by the better current density distributions.
Measurement of Spatially Resolved Impedance Spectroscopy with Local Perturbation
Authors: Zamel N. , Bhattarai A. , Gerteisen D.
Published: June 2013

The characteristics of the measured total impedance spectra of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are often not representative of the performance of the cell. This is due in part mainly to two reasons; total impedance measurements are not representative of local phenomena and perturbation of the cell around the steady‐state polarization can result in oscillations of the gas concentrations downstream the flow channels that can affect the trend of the local spectrum. In this study, we overcome these two challenges by measuring the spectra of a segmented cell using local excitation of the segments. With these capabilities, we experimentally investigate the explanation given in works found in literature in regards to the oxygen oscillation in the channel and its effect on the spectra of locally perturbed segments. We further investigate the characteristics of the low frequency arc, measuring for the first time a loop in the spectrum around the transition frequency between the high and low frequency arcs. The characteristics of the spectra are investigated by varying the flow properties with a focus on the effect of air stoichiometry.
Mechanical Properties of Gd‐CeO2 Electrolyte for SOFC Prepared by Aqueous Tape Casting
Authors: Akbari‐Fakhrabadi A. , Mangalaraja R. V. , Jamshidijam M. , Ananthakumar S. , Chan S. H.
Published: June 2013

Mechanical properties of gadolinium‐doped ceria (Ce0.9Gd0.1O1.95, 10GDC) green tape prepared by aqueous‐based tape casting process were characterized by tensile test and shear punch test (SPT). SPT was found to be a useful method for characterizing mechanical properties of green tapes. Microstructures and mechanical properties such as flexural modulus, bending strength, and microhardness of tapes sintered at 1,300–1,500 °C have been evaluated. Indentation fracture toughness was also determined by the method of Palmqvist cracks at different applied loads for tapes sintered at 1,500 °C. Grain size measurements showed that excessive grain growth occurred during sintering despite using 10GDC nanopowders as the starting material. However, mechanical properties of sintered tapes improved by increasing sintering temperature and the results are comparable with those reported for 10GDC in literature.
Gadolinia Doped Ceria Thin Films Prepared by Aerosol Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition and Applications in Intermediate‐Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
Authors: Schlupp M. V. F. , Kurlov A. , Hwang J. , Yáng Z. , Döbeli M. , Martynczuk J. , Prestat M. , Son J.‐W. , Gauckler L. J.
Published: June 2013

Furthermore, deposition at such low temperatures is promising for processing of thin film assemblies.

The preparation of bi‐layer electrolytes of yttria stabilized zirconia and gadolinia doped ceria thin films by aerosol assisted chemical vapor deposition is demonstrated. Gadolinia doped ceria films as thin as 150 nm are applied as barrier layers between yttria stabilized zirconia electrolyte and La0.6Sr0.4CoO3–δ cathode in anode supported solid oxide fuel cells. High power densities above 850 mW cm–2 at 650 °C are only obtained with these barrier layers, indicating that the GDC thin films effectively inhibit the formation of unwanted interface reactions.
Testing the Efficient Market Hypothesis in Conditionally Heteroskedastic Futures Markets
Authors: Westerlund Joakim , Narayan Paresh
Published: June 2013

Most empirical evidence suggests that the efficient market hypothesis, stating that spot and futures prices should cointegrate with a unit slope on futures prices, does not hold. These results have recently motivated researchers to start looking for more “informative” tests, and the current paper takes a step in this direction. However, unlike existing tests, the test proposed here exploits the information contained in the heteroskedasticity of the data, which is expected to lead to more accurate inference, a result that is confirmed by our findings. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark
The 2013 Russian fireball largest ever detected by CTBTO infrasound sensors
Authors: Le Pichon Alexis , Ceranna Lars , Pilger Christoph , Mialle Pierrick , Brown David , Herry Pascal , Brachet Nicolas
Published: June 2013

On 15 February 2013, a large Earth‐impacting fireball disintegrated over the Ural Mountains. This extraordinary event is, together with the 1908 Tunguska fireball, among the most energetic events ever instrumentally recorded. It generated infrasound returns, after circling the globe, at distances up to ~85,000 km, and was detected at 20 infrasonic stations of the global International Monitoring System (IMS). For the first time since the establishment of the IMS infrasound network, multiple arrivals involving waves that traveled twice round the globe have been clearly identified. A preliminary estimate of the explosive energy using empirical period‐yield scaling relations gives a value of 460 kt of TNT equivalent. In the context of the future verification of the Comprehensive Nuclear‐Test‐Ban Treaty, this event provides a prominent milestone for studying in detail infrasound propagation around the globe for almost 3 days as well as for calibrating the performance of the IMS network.
Analysis of uncertainties in the hydrological response of a model‐based climate change impact assessment in a subcatchment of the Spree River, Germany
Authors: Gädeke Anne , Hölzel Herwig , Koch Hagen , Pohle Ina , Grünewald Uwe
Published: June 2013

Climate change impact assessments form the basis for the development of suitable climate change adaptation strategies. For this purpose, ensembles consisting of stepwise coupled models are generally used [emission scenario → global circulation model → downscaling approach (DA) → bias correction → impact model (hydrological model)], in which every item is affected by considerable uncertainty. The aim of the current study is (1) to analyse the uncertainty related to the choice of the DA as well as the hydrological model and its parameterization and (2) to evaluate the vulnerability of the studied catchment, a subcatchment of the highly anthropogenically impacted Spree River catchment, to hydrological change. Four different DAs are used to drive four different model configurations of two conceptually different hydrological models (Water Balance Simulation Model developed at ETH Zürich and HBV‐light). In total, 452 simulations are carried out. The results show that all simulations compute an increase in air temperature and potential evapotranspiration. For precipitation, runoff and actual evapotranspiration, opposing trends are computed depending on the DA used to drive the hydrological models. Overall, the largest source of uncertainty can be attributed to the choice of the DA, especially regarding whether it is statistical or dynamical. The choice of the hydrological model and its parameterization is of less importance when long‐term mean annual changes are compared. The large bandwidth at the end of the modelling chain may exacerbate the formulation of suitable climate change adaption strategies on the regional scale. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Prediagnostic circulating markers of inflammation and risk of prostate cancer
Authors: Toriola Adetunji T. , Laukkanen Jari A. , Kurl Sudhir , Nyyssönen Kristiina , Ronkainen Kimmo , Kauhanen Jussi
Published: June 2013

Accruing evidence suggests that inflammation plays a role in prostate carcinogenesis. However, studies evaluating this association using C‐reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin‐6 as markers of inflammation have reported conflicting results. We investigated the associations of three common markers of inflammation (CRP, fibrinogen and leukocyte count) with the risk of prostate cancer in a prospective cohort of 2,571 men from Finland. During an average follow‐up period of 24 years (21–26 years), 203 men from the cohort who developed prostate cancer were identified via linkage to the nationwide Finnish Cancer Registry. We investigated the associations between the markers and the risk of prostate cancer using Cox proportional hazards model, adjusting for potential confounders. Elevated prediagnostic leukocyte count was associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer. In multivariable adjusted model, the relative risk of prostate cancer among men in the highest tertile of leukocyte count compared to men in the lowest tertile was 1.60 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.10–2.29, p‐trend = 0.01). Circulating CRP and fibrinogen were not associated with increased risk. The corresponding relative risks for elevated CRP and fibrinogen concentrations were 1.08 (95% CI: 0.74–1.60, p‐trend = 0.56) and 1.25 (95% CI: 0.87–1.81, p‐trend = 0.14), respectively. Men with elevated leukocyte counts had a 2.57‐fold (95% CI: 0.99–6.79) increased risk of prostate cancer mortality. The increased risk associated with elevated leukocyte counts warrants confirmation in other studies. Larger studies should consider combining at least two markers or using an inflammation score derived from many inflammatory markers to evaluate prostate cancer risk.
Loss of heterozygosity at 13q13 and 14q32 predicts BRCA2 inactivation in luminal breast carcinomas
Authors: Pécuchet Nicolas , Popova Tatiana , Manié Elodie , Lucchesi Carlo , Battistella Aude , Vincent‐Salomon Anne , Caux‐Moncoutier Virginie , Bollet Marc , Sigal‐Zafrani Brigitte , Sastre‐Garau Xavier , Stoppa‐Lyonnet Dominique , Stern Marc‐Henri
Published: June 2013

BRCA2 is the major high‐penetrance predisposition gene for luminal (estrogen receptor [ER] positive) breast cancers. However, many BRCA2 mutant carriers lack family history of breast/ovarian cancers and do not benefit from genetic testing. Specific genomic features associated with BRCA2 inactivation in tumors could help identify patients for whom a genetic test for BRCA2 may be proposed. A series of ER‐positive invasive ductal carcinomas (IDCs) including 30 carriers of BRCA2 mutations and 215 control cases was studied by single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays. Cases and controls were stratified by grade and HER2 status. Independently, 7 BRCA2 and 51 control cases were used for validation. Absolute copy number and Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) profiles were obtained from SNP arrays by the genome alteration print (GAP) method. BRCA2 tumors were observed to display a discriminatively greater number of chromosomal breaks calculated after filtering out and smoothing <3 Mb variations. This argues for a BRCA2‐associated genomic instability responsible for long‐segment aberrations. Co‐occurrence of two genomic features—LOH of 13q13 and 14q32—was found to predict BRCA2 status with 90% of sensitivity and 87% of specificity in discovery series of high‐grade HER2‐negative IDCs and 100% of sensitivity and 88% of specificity in an independent series of 58 IDCs. Estimated positive predictive value was 17.2% (confidence interval: 6.7–33.5) in the whole series. In conclusion, the simplified BRCA2 classifier based on the co‐occurrence of LOH at 13q13 and 14q32 could provide an indication to test for BRCA2 mutation in patients with ER‐positive IDC.
TPO genetic variants and risk of differentiated thyroid carcinoma in two European populations
Authors: Cipollini Monica , Pastor Susana , Gemignani Federica , Castell Juan , Garritano Sonia , Bonotti Alessandra , Biarnés Josefina , Figlioli Gisella , Romei Cristina , Marcos Ricard , Cristaudo Alfonso , Elisei Rossella , Landi Stefano , Velázquez Antonia
Published: June 2013

Thyroid cancer risk involves the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. The thyroperoxidase (TPO) has a key role in the iodine metabolism, being essential for the thyroid function. Mutations in the TPO gene are common in congenital hypothyroidism, and there are also signs of the implication of TPO in thyroid cancer. We performed a case–control association study of genetic variants in TPO and differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) in 1,586 DTC patients and 1,769 controls including two European populations (Italy: 1,190 DTC and 1,290 controls; Spain: 396 DTC and 479 controls). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed separately for each population and each single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). From the three studied polymorphisms, significant associations were detected between DTC and rs2048722 and rs732609 in both populations (p <  0.05). In the Italian population, both SNPs showed a negative association (rs2048722, odds ratio [OR] = 0.79, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.63–1.00, p = 0.045; rs732609, OR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.55–0.94, p = 0.016), whereas in the Spanish population, these SNPs showed a positive association (rs2048722, OR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.03–1.89, p = 0.033; rs732609, OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.06–1.87, p = 0.018). The corresponding associations for papillary or follicular thyroid cancer were similar to those for all DTC, within population. No association was detected for the third TPO polymorphism in the Italian and the Spanish populations. Our results, for the first time, point to TPO as a gene involved in the risk of DTC, and suggest the importance of interactions between TPO variants and other unidentified population‐specific factors in determining thyroid cancer risk.
Tumor stroma and differentiated cancer cells can be originated directly from polyploid giant cancer cells induced by paclitaxel
Authors: Zhang Shiwu , Mercado‐Uribe Imelda , Liu Jinsong
Published: June 2013

Paclitaxel is widely used to treat cancer patients through the blocking of mitosis and result in formation of polyploidy giant cancer cells (PGCCs), which are generally believed to be nondividing cells or in mitotic catastrophe. Here, we showed that PGCCs following the treatment of paclitaxel of MCF‐7 breast cancer cell line have capability to generate regular‐sized progeny cells through budding. The PGCCs not only grew into well‐differentiated cancer cells that formed cancer organotypic structures in vitro but also trans‐differentiated into multiple tumor stromal cells including myoepithelial, endothelial and erythroid cells. PGCCs formed glandular and vessel‐like cancer organotypic structures that expressed normal stem cell markers. These progeny cells generated from PGCCs showed decreased ability of proliferation, invasion and tumor growth and became more resistant to paclitaxel than parental MCF‐7 cells. These results demonstrated that paclitaxel‐induced PGCCs have properties of cancer stem cells that can generate both epithelial cancer cells and multilineage of stromal cells. PGCCs are not only the morphogenic determinant to tumor histogenesis and but also contribute to paclitaxel resistance.
Women's intentions to receive cervical cancer screening with primary human papillomavirus testing
Authors: Ogilvie Gina S. , Smith Laurie W. , van Niekerk Dirk J. , Khurshed Fareeza , Krajden Mel , Saraiya Mona , Goel Vivek , Rimer Barbara K. , Greene Sandra B. , Hobbs Suzanne , Coldman Andrew J. , Franco Eduardo L.
Published: June 2013

We explored the potential impact of human papillomavirus (HPV) testing on women's intentions to be screened for cervical cancer in a cohort of Canadian women. Participants aged 25–65 years from an ongoing trial were sent a questionnaire to assess women's intentions to be screened for cervical cancer with HPV testing instead of Pap smears and to be screened every 4 years or after 25 years of age. We created scales for attitudes about HPV testing, perceived behavioral control, and direct and indirect subjective norms. Demographic data and scales that were significantly different (p < 0.1) between women who intended to be screened with HPV and those who did not intend were included in a stepwise logistic regression model. Of the 2,016 invitations emailed, 1,538 were received, and 981 completed surveys for a response rate of 63% (981/1,538). Eighty‐four percent of women (826/981) responded that they intended to attend for HPV‐based cervical cancer screening, which decreased to 54.2% when the screening interval was extended, and decreased further to 51.4% when screening start was delayed to age of 25. Predictors of intentions to undergo screening were attitudes (odds ratio [OR]: 1.22; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15, 1.30), indirect subjective norms (OR: 1.02; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.03) and perceived behavioral control (OR: 1.16; 95% CI: 1.10; 1.22). Intentions to be screened for cervical cancer with HPV testing decreased substantially when the screening interval was extended and screening started at age of 25. Use of primary HPV testing may optimize the screening paradigm, but programs should ensure robust planning and education to mitigate any negative impact on screening attendance rates.
Alternatively spliced tissue factor contributes to tumor spread and activation of coagulation in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
Authors: Unruh Dusten , Turner Kevin , Srinivasan Ramprasad , Kocatürk Begüm , Qi Xiaoyang , Chu Zhengtao , Aronow Bruce J. , Plas David R. , Gallo Catherine A. , Kalthoff Holger , Kirchhofer Daniel , Ruf Wolfram , Ahmad Syed A. , Lucas Fred V. , Versteeg Henri H. , Bogdanov Vladimir Y.
Published: June 2013

Alternatively spliced tissue factor (asTF) promotes neovascularization and monocyte recruitment via integrin ligation. While asTF mRNA has been detected in some pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cell lines and increased asTF expression can promote PDAC growth in a subcutaneous model, the expression of asTF protein in bona fide PDAC lesions and/or its role in metastatic spread are yet to be ascertained. We here report that asTF protein is abundant in lesional and stromal compartments of the five studied types of carcinoma including PDAC. Analysis of 29 specimens of PDAC revealed detectable asTF in >90% of the lesions with a range of staining intensities. asTF levels in PDAC lesions positively correlated with the degree of monocyte infiltration. In an orthotopic model, asTF‐overexpressing high‐grade PDAC cell line Pt45P1/asTF+ produced metastases to distal lymph nodes, which stained positive for asTF. PDAC cells stimulated with and/or overexpressing asTF exhibited upregulation of genes implicated in PDAC progression and metastatic spread. Pt45P1/asTF+ cells displayed higher coagulant activity compared to Pt45P1 cells; the same effect was observed for cell‐derived microparticles (MPs). Our findings demonstrate that asTF is expressed in PDAC and lymph node metastases and potentiates PDAC spread in vivo. asTF elicits global changes in gene expression likely involved in tumor progression and metastatic dissemination, and it also enhances the procoagulant potential of PDAC cells and cell‐derived MPs. Thus, asTF may comprise a novel therapeutic target to treat PDAC and, possibly, its thrombotic complications.
Symmetric ‐Designs and ‐Difference Sets
Authors: Olmez Oktay
Published: June 2013

In this paper, we introduce a method to construct ‐designs, which are also known as partial geometric designs, by using subsets of certain finite groups. We introduce the concept of ‐difference sets and investigate the existence and nonexistence of these structures. We also provide some nonexistence results on ‐designs based on the fact that ‐designs yield directed strongly regular graphs.
Completions of ‐Dense Partial Latin Squares
Authors: Bartlett Padraic
Published: June 2013

A classical question in combinatorics is the following: given a partial Latin square P, when can we complete P to a Latin square L? In this paper, we investigate the class of ε‐dense partial Latin squares: partial Latin squares in which each symbol, row, and column contains no more than ‐many nonblank cells. Based on a conjecture of Nash‐Williams, Daykin and Häggkvist conjectured that all ‐dense partial Latin squares are completable. In this paper, we will discuss the proof methods and results used in previous attempts to resolve this conjecture, introduce a novel technique derived from a paper by Jacobson and Matthews on generating random Latin squares, and use this technique to study ε‐dense partial Latin squares that contain no more than filled cells in total. In this paper, we construct completions for all ε‐dense partial Latin squares containing no more than filled cells in total, given that . In particular, we show that all ‐dense partial Latin squares are completable. These results improve prior work by Gustavsson, which required , as well as Chetwynd and Häggkvist, which required , n even and greater than 107.
SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND SATISFACTION WITH LIFE AMONG IMMIGRANTS AND THE NATIVE POPULATION
Authors: Hombrados‐Mendieta Maria Isabel , Gomez‐Jacinto Luis , Dominguez‐Fuentes Juan Manuel , Garcia‐Leiva Patricia
Published: June 2013

The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of the sense of community (SOC) on satisfaction with life (SWL) in native and immigrant populations in Spain. The main hypothesis was that SOC would moderate the negative effects associated with the immigrant adaptation process. It was further hypothesized that there would be no differences in SWL between immigrants with a high SOC and the native population. The study included 1,646 participants living in Malaga (Spain), comprising 946 natives and 700 immigrants. Data were collected using random route sampling and survey methodology. The results showed that people with higher SOC had significantly greater SWL. It was also found that SWL was greater in natives than in immigrants when the level of SOC was low or medium. However, when SOC was high there were no significant differences between the groups in SWL. The data support the hypothesis that SOC acts as a moderating variable that buffers the effect of the adaptation process experienced by immigrants.
DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES AS ANTECEDENTS OF ISRAELI COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL RESILIENCE
Authors: Goroshit Shaul Kimhi Marina , Eshel Yohanan
Published: June 2013

This study focuses on demographic antecedents of community and national resilience. We hypothesized that both kinds of public resilience would be predicted by 4 demographic variables, which have rarely been associated with community or national resilience in the past: community type, age, and levels of religiosity and preparedness. The final sample of 435 participants included 92 kibbutz members, 61 moshav members, 38 inhabitants of villages, and 244 town dwellers. Results indicated the following: (a) when demographic variables were accounted for, community and national resilience were positively correlated with each other; (b) the demographic variables in the path analysis model, controlling for each other, significantly predicted community and national resilience; (c) older age and higher level of religiosity positively predicted both community and national resilience; (d) higher preparedness positively predicted only community resilience; and (e) higher communality of the community was associated with higher community resilience and lower national resilience.
SOCIAL CAPITAL AND MENTAL HEALTH IN SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: A MULTILEVEL ANALYSIS OF 4,734 PEOPLE IN 25 ADMINISTRATIVE AREAS
Authors: Han Sehee , Lee Hee‐Sun
Published: June 2013

The purpose of this study is to examine the association between social capital and mental health using multilevel analysis to fulfill some limitations of previous studies. A cross‐sectional survey was conducted in Seoul, South Korea. The final sample comprised 4,734 respondents. The results show that some dimensions of social capital are associated with mental health at the individual level, but the contextual‐level social capital variables are not. Our results suggest that both individual‐level trust and organizational participation are positively associated with mental health. Based on the findings, decision makers may need to consider designing policies that leverage individual‐level social capital for the enhancement of citizens’ mental health. In addition, it may not be cost‐effective if social capital interventions targeting mental health are focused only on the contextual level.
Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Profile of Supratherapeutic Oral Doses of Δ9‐THC in Cannabis Users
Authors: Lile Joshua A. , Kelly Thomas H. , Charnigo Richard J. , Stinchcomb Audra L. , Hays Lon R.
Published: June 2013

Oral Δ9‐tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9‐THC) has been evaluated as a medication for cannabis dependence, but repeated administration of acute oral doses up to 40 mg has not been effective at reducing drug‐taking behavior. Larger doses might be necessary to affect cannabis use. The purpose of the present study was therefore to determine the physiological and behavioural effects of oral Δ9‐THC at acute doses higher than those tested previously. The pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile of oral Δ9‐THC, administered in ascending order in 15 mg increments across separate sessions, up to a maximum of 90 mg, was determined in seven cannabis users. Five subjects received all doses and two experienced untoward side effects at lower doses. Δ9‐THC produced a constellation of effects consistent with previous clinical studies. Low cannabinoid concentrations were associated with significant effects on drug‐sensitive measures, although progressively greater levels did not lead to proportionately larger drug effects. Considerable variability in Cmax and tmax was observed. Doses of oral Δ9‐THC larger than those tested previously can be administered to individuals with a history of cannabis use, although given the pharmacokinetic variability of oral Δ9‐THC and individual differences in sensitivity, individualized dose adjustment is needed to avoid side effects and maximize therapeutic response.
Removal of CH3SH with in‐situ generated ferrate(VI) in a wet‐scrubbing reactor
Authors: Ding Ling , Liu Tong‐Xu , Li Xiang‐Zhong
Published: June 2013

BACKGROUND

A wet scrubbing process with in‐situ electro‐generation of ferrate(VI) has been developed for removing odour from foul gas in wastewater treatment plants. In this process, methyl mercaptan (CH3SH) in synthetic gas is removed through absorption and oxidation by contacting the gaseous stream with aqueous NaOH electrolyte that offers in‐situ generation of ferrate(VI).

RESULTS

The process parameters including electrolyte concentration, applied current density, initial CH3SH concentration, gas flow rate and gaseous CH3SH compositions were investigated to determine the best operating conditions and design parameters for a scale‐up design. Under all the experimental conditions, gaseous CH3SH was completely removed by the wet scrubbing process at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. The process proved to be quite effective for dissolved CH3S‐ degradation under the optimum experimental condition at the NaOH concentration of 6 mol L–1, current density of 2.22 mA cm‐2 and CH3SH loading below 30 g m‐3 h‐1. A very short contact time of 0.06 s between the gas and the liquid phases was achieved in this in‐situ ferrate(VI) generation reactor.

CONCLUSIONS

This process is effective for CH3SH control, and holds great promise for industrial applications due to its high efficiency, simplicity and stability. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry
Radioactive liquid waste treatment at Fukushima Daiichi
Authors: Sylvester Paul , Milner Tim , Jensen Jesse
Published: June 2013

The earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011 severely damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant leading to the most severe nuclear incident since Chernobyl. Ongoing operations to cool the damaged reactors at the site have led to the generation of highly radioactive coolant water. This is currently treated to remove Cs‐137 and Cs‐134 and then passed through a reverse osmosis (RO) unit to reduce the salinity before being cycled back to the reactors. Because only the Cs isotopes are removed, the RO reject water cannot be discharged from the site and this has led to the accumulation of over 200 000 m3 (52 million gallons) of extremely contaminated water which is currently stored on site in tanks. EnergySolutions, in partnership with Toshiba, were contracted to develop a system to reduce 62 isotopes in this waste to allowable levels. This was a significant technical challenge given the high background salt content of the waste‐water, the variation in aqueous chemistry of the radioactive isotopes and the presence of relatively high concentrations of non‐active competing ions (e.g. Ca and Mg) which inhibit the removal of isotopes such as Sr‐89 and Sr‐90. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry
Approaches for cesium uptake by vermiculite
Authors: Suzuki Noriko , Ozawa Shunsuke , Ochi Kotaro , Chikuma Toshiyuki , Watanabe Yujiro
Published: June 2013

BACKGROUND

Expanded vermiculite is widely used in many fields, especially as an ameliorant in agriculture. Although it is known as a cation‐exchanger, in a search for a new cesium adsorbent for environmental conservation, the ion‐exchange behaviour of cesium on vermiculite in various grain sizes was investigated. The adsorption of cesium from artificial seawater was also investigated.

RESULTS

The effect of the vermiculite grain size was clearly identified. The preferred gain size for general use was found to be 500 µm. The amount of adsorption was low in these artificial seawater samples, however, almost similar ion‐exchange behaviour was observed in both of the pure water and artificial seawater samples.

CONCLUSION

Adjustment of grain size according to the end use enables unlimited availability for application as an adsorbent of cesium. The results showed that vermiculite is a promising material for the recovery of cesium from contaminated seawater. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry
Reduction of viscous potential for northward interplanetary magnetic field as seen in the LFM simulation
Authors: Bhattarai S. K. , Lopez R. E.
Published: June 2013

The two primary methods responsible for solar wind magnetosphere coupling are magnetic reconnection and the viscous interaction. The viscous interaction is generated due to the antisunward dragging of plasma inside the magnetopause by the plasma flowing in the magnetosheath, creating a return flow deeper inside the magnetosphere and producing a circulation pattern. This viscous circulation pattern is mapped into the ionosphere via magnetic field lines, which results in ionospheric electric field in the nonrotating Earth's frame. We measure this interaction in terms of an electric potential, the viscous potential. In this paper, we use the results obtained from the Lyon‐Fedder‐Mobarry (LFM) simulation model during periods of purely northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) for different solar wind velocity and ionospheric conductivity, showing a reduction of the viscous potential with increasing magnitude of northward IMF. The viscous potential is found to settle around 5–10 kV for large +Bz values. The decrease in viscous potential was found to be associated with a weak or nonexistent sunward plasma flow in the nightside plasmasheet. Instead, the return flow to the dayside occurs at high latitudes and is associated with the reconnection topology and dynamics that occur during northward IMF periods. We also show that the magnetosphere remains closed during purely northward IMF, except for two small regions—one on each hemisphere, where the magnetic reconnection occur. We argue that the reduction of the viscous potential is due to a reduction of the velocity shear across the magnetopause and the lack of sunward convection in the equatorial tail.
Is thermospheric global cooling caused by gravity waves?
Authors: Oliver W. L. , Zhang S.‐R. , Goncharenko L. P.
Published: June 2013

We analyze ion temperature data near 350 km altitude over the years 1966–2012 to seek explanations for three outstanding questions concerning the long‐term cooling observed in the upper thermosphere: (1) Why is the cooling so much larger than expected, (2) why has the cooling lasted so long, and (3) why is the thermospheric density response to the cooling so small? We speculate that gravity waves may cause this cooling and provide answers to these questions. Recent simulations have shown that gravity waves are expected to cool the upper thermosphere by an amount comparable to that observed over our data timeline. A gravity wave proxy formed from the nontidal fluctuations in temperature shows a positive long‐term trend throughout its timeline, consistent with the increasing cooling observed. The time scales of the long‐term trend and its decadal fluctuations are characteristic of the ocean, not the atmosphere. We suggest that the following scenario may explain these behaviors: (a) the climate regime shift of 1976–1977 launched slow Rossby waves across the oceans which continue to propagate to this day, (b) winds over this increasingly corrugated ocean have launched increasing fluxes of gravity waves into the atmosphere, and (c) these increasing fluxes of gravity waves have propagated to the thermosphere to produce increasing amounts of cooling. The strong thermospheric cooling seen would be expected to produce thermospheric density declines much larger than those observed via satellite drag. These temperature and density results would be compatible if the turbopause were lowered 4 km over the time span of observations.
Tectonic evolution and mantle structure of the Caribbean
Authors: van Benthem Steven , Govers Rob , Spakman Wim , Wortel Rinus
Published: June 2013

We investigate whether predictions of mantle structure from tectonic reconstructions are in agreement with a detailed tomographic image of seismic P wave velocity structure under the Caribbean region. In the upper mantle, positive seismic anomalies are imaged under the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico. These anomalies are interpreted as remnants of Atlantic lithosphere subduction and confirm tectonic reconstructions that suggest at least 1100 km of convergence at the Lesser Antilles island arc during the past ~45 Myr. The imaged Lesser Antilles slab consists of a northern and southern anomaly, separated by a low‐velocity anomaly across most of the upper mantle, which we interpret as the subducted North America‐South America plate boundary. The southern edge of the imaged Lesser Antilles slab agrees with vertical tearing of South America lithosphere. The northern Lesser Antilles slab is continuous with the Puerto Rico slab along the northeastern plate boundary. This results in an amphitheater‐shaped slab, and it is interpreted as westward subducting North America lithosphere that remained attached to the surface along the northeastern boundary of the Caribbean plate. At the Muertos Trough, however, material is imaged until a depth of only 100 km, suggesting a small amount of subduction. The location and length of the imaged South Caribbean slab agrees with proposed subduction of Caribbean lithosphere under the northern South America plate. An anomaly related to proposed Oligocene subduction at the Nicaragua rise is absent in the tomographic model. Beneath Panama, a subduction window exists across the upper mantle, which is related to the cessation of subduction of the Nazca plate under Panama since 9.5 Ma and possibly the preceding subduction of the extinct Cocos‐Nazca spreading center. In the lower mantle, two large anomaly patterns are imaged. The westernmost anomaly agrees with the subduction of Farallon lithosphere. The second lower mantle anomaly is found east of the Farallon anomaly and is interpreted as a remnant of the late Mesozoic subduction of North and South America oceanic lithosphere at the Greater Antilles, Aves ridge, and Leeward Antilles. The imaged mantle structure does not allow us to discriminate between an “Intra‐Americas origin” and a “Pacific origin” of the Caribbean plate.
Mechanics of nonplanar faults at extensional steps with application to the 1992M7.3 Landers, California, earthquake
Authors: Madden Elizabeth H. , Maerten Frantz , Pollard David D.
Published: June 2013

Earthquakes that rupture across steps between faults can be larger than those predicted from individual fault lengths, making understanding multifault events critical to assessing earthquake hazard. Empirical data from earthquake surface ruptures suggest that the distances between faults that rupture together can range from <1 to 5 km. Dynamic and quasi‐static models of planar faults determine similar distances. However, studies of interactions between realistic, 3‐D nonplanar faults are few. A general comparison of quasi‐static stress perturbations and triggering potentials with mechanical models incorporating either planar or nonplanar faults highlights the sensitivity of planar fault models to model parameters and reveals no clear relationship between mean fault slip and triggering potential. More specifically, planar fault models predict triggering across a 3 km extensional step, while models incorporating nonplanar faults indicate that a connecting fault is necessary to transfer slip through a 3 km step along the 1992 Landers, California earthquake rupture. The mechanical approach taken captures the stress changes as well as the total stress following fault slip, improving the criterion used to determine triggered failure potential. This underscores the need for additional constraint on fault strength and cohesion. The focus on complex fault geometry restricts analyses to the quasi‐static realm, limiting the results to fault interactions over the short distances and slow rupture velocities for which the quasi‐static stress field is relevant or approximates the dynamic stress field.
A simple model of global aerosol indirect effects
Authors: Ghan Steven J. , Smith Steven J. , Wang Minghuai , Zhang Kai , Pringle Kirsty , Carslaw Kenneth , Pierce Jeffrey , Bauer Susanne , Adams Peter
Published: June 2013

Most estimates of the global mean indirect effect of anthropogenic aerosol on the Earth's energy balance are from simulations by global models of the aerosol lifecycle coupled with global models of clouds and the hydrologic cycle. Extremely simple models have been developed for integrated assessment models, but lack the flexibility to distinguish between primary and secondary sources of aerosol. Here a simple but more physically based model expresses the aerosol indirect effect (AIE) using analytic representations of cloud and aerosol distributions and processes. Although the simple model is able to produce estimates of AIEs that are comparable to those from some global aerosol models using the same global mean aerosol properties, the estimates by the simple model are sensitive to preindustrial cloud condensation nuclei concentration, preindustrial accumulation mode radius, width of the accumulation mode, size of primary particles, cloud thickness, primary and secondary anthropogenic emissions, the fraction of the secondary anthropogenic emissions that accumulates on the coarse mode, the fraction of the secondary mass that forms new particles, and the sensitivity of liquid water path to droplet number concentration. Estimates of present‐day AIEs as low as −5 W m−2 and as high as −0.3 W m−2 are obtained for plausible sets of parameter values. Estimates are surprisingly linear in emissions. The estimates depend on parameter values in ways that are consistent with results from detailed global aerosol‐climate simulation models, which adds to understanding of the dependence on AIE uncertainty on uncertainty in parameter values.