bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The end of the European university?
Authors: Scott Peter
Published: July 2009

The past half-century has been perhaps the European university's greatest age, even compared with the earlier flourishing in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and during the industrial revolution of the 19th century. More universities have been founded; student numbers have increased at an unprecedented rate; and the scholarly and scientific productivity of the universities has been unparalleled. But the university has become for the first time a truly global institution, cut off from its roots in Europe and Europe's colonial empires and open to other, non-European and non-élite, knowledge traditions. At the same time the tight relationship between the university and modernity, or ‘movement’, has been increasingly questioned. For more than a century that relationship has been axiomatic, relegating the university's other role as an agent of continuity and tradition into second place. But the dynamism of socio-economic and technological change in the so-called ‘Knowledge Society’ is now so great that the university's role as a force for stabilization may become more important. As a result the centrality of the university in the European experience could be diminished.
The changing roles of the university and non-university sectors of higher education in europe
Authors: Teichler Ulrich
Published: July 2009

For many years, different patterns of the higher education system existed in various European countries. The patterns were not stable in each country, because pressures for upgrading of the ‘less noble’ sector tended to be strong. Altogether, it was justified, however, to characterize the situation in Europe as a ‘persistence of variety’. Many theories helped to explain a coexistence of inclinations for common approaches or specific options of individual countries. Most recently, though, pressures for convergence seem to have grown in Europe. Although the European Union advocates a respect for variety, some countries tend to adapt themselves to anticipated trends. In addition, efforts are undertaken in various European countries to adapt the programmes and institutions to an Anglo-Saxon model in order to preserve or strengthen their position in the wake of internationalization and globalization.
The future of higher education in Central-Eastern Europe: problems and possibilities
Authors: Darvas Peter
Published: July 2009

The main beliefs, strategies and problems marking the road of higher educational change in the Central–Eastern European countries are analysed and distinction is made between three main actors: government, clients and the academic community. At governmental level the focus is on the handicapping effects of conflict between short and long-term reform and the internal nature of the government-higher education relationship. Government initiated reforms should offer transitory and contextual solutions rather than permanent and substantive ones. The traditional lack of distinction between higher education as public versus private good and the problems and consequences of expanding higher education is examined. The political power of the academic community can hamper the effectiveness of reforms and external accountability. Reforms should separate the merged functions of supervision, allocation and professional accreditation. At the institutional level, executive leadership should be separated from the traditional academic hierarchies. Institutional leaders need to be given more independence and need to improve their skills of financial management, institutional planning and self-evaluation. As for academic control, new institutional patterns of cooperation should be assisted at the expense of the traditional hierarchies of higher knowledge.
The impact of policy changes on the academic profession in England
Authors: Kogan Maurice , Henkel Mary
Published: July 2009

The policy frame and resource base within which universities work in the UK have undergone drastic changes. Whilst the nature of changes at the governmental level has often been remarked upon, there is little empirical work on the impact of these changes on academic values and working. This paper reports findings from the English component of an Anglo–Norwegian-Swedish project nearing completion which gives an account of the policy changes and their impact on values, research agendas and criteria, and modes of creating and ‘delivering’ the curriculum. Whilst the research invites caution about overstating the discontinuities of policy over the last 20 years, it displays the considerable effects of policy changes which emerge, however, differently in different subject areas and types of institution.
Healers and the healing act in Classical Greece
Authors: Nutton Vivian
Published: July 2009

The common opinion that the history of Greek medicine can be characterized as the triumph of a rational, Hippocratic medicine, has been strongly attacked over the last 30 years. Instead of a single dominant theory of humoral medicine, scholars now point to the great variety of theories current in the time of Hippocrates, 450–350 BC, and to the great variety and number of those who offered healing in the medical marketplace. They are best described as craftsman, with similar behaviour and status to the local carpenter. Others sought the aid of the gods in temple medicine. The resulting picture emphasizes a dynamic situation.
The fall of the Roman Empire and the nations of Europe
Authors: Wood Ian
Published: July 2009

Many of the nations of Europe have at some time traced their origins to barbarian tribes that settled inside the Roman Empire in the 5th and 6th centuries. In the course of the 19th and 20th centuries the Early Middle Ages were, as a result, manipulated to racist ends. Not surprisingly, scholars who have worked on the period since 1945 have been concerned to undermine earlier interpretations. In this they have been helped by increasing archaeological evidence and by changes in methodology. The current interpretation of the period is one that emphasizes variety – an emphasis which itself reflects present concerns in Europe.
Man's many-sided biological identity
Authors: Karli Pierre
Published: July 2009

Far from being a simple and monolithic notion, man's biological identity embraces several closely related – but nevertheless partially autonomous – facets. Both the molecular identity and the easily identifiable body and face morphology derive quite directly from a unique set of genes. But the latter interacts, in a highly complex way, with a unique life-history in the progressive moulding of all the individual characteristics of brain functioning that underlie an individualized and evolving mental life, with the attitudes and behaviours that express it.
Unchanging forms of identity in literary expression
Authors: Ellrodt Robert
Published: July 2009

The development of self-consciousness and the questioning of identity appear to be closely linked in literary history and theory. The postmodernist assumption that the self is only a heterogeneous cultural construct is unwarranted. Besides inner experience, there is an objective basis for the singularity of the self in biology, psychoanalysis and psychology. The exploration of the modes of consciousness and imagination mirrored in literary creation can bring evidence of structures and correlations unnoticed in personality studies. The presence and permanent nature of individual traits and their characteristic interrelations may be detected in the works of the English Metaphysical poets and John Milton.
The further enlargement of the European Union in a historical perspective
Authors: Berend Ivan T.
Published: July 2009

The article discusses the proposed enlargement of the European Union by the inclusion of the five Central European Countries, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia and Slovenia in terms of their history. In the past, they have been part of the West at times, but their recent economic history has not been encouraging. What will their prospects be when joining the European Union?
Democracy and development
Authors: Wolfrum Rüdiger
Published: July 2009

The discussion on the relationship of democracy and development has only become meaningful after being freed from a purely dogmatic approach. International law, in particular international human rights instruments, commit States' Parties to establish and sustain a government based upon democratic elections and which is politically accountable. Development requires a policy towards achieving conditions where human beings can enjoy freedom from want and fear. Both policies, on democratization and development, are meant to achieve conditions in which human dignity is fully respected and they are therefore mutually reinforcing.
‘Small’ languages and their speakers
Authors: Rischel Jørgen
Published: July 2009

This article illustrates some of the challenges faced in trying to do research on little-known languages, particularly tribal languages. It refutes the widespread stereotype that tribal people share a ‘primitive’ language type. Functional bilingualism or even multilingualism is a natural feature of tribal communities. The question may be raised whether mastery of alternative languages promotes language death. A comparison is made with ‘small’ languages in contemporary Europe.
Science: Where do we draw the line?
Authors: Drenth Pieter J. D.
Published: July 2009

Science is not taken for granted any longer. Society, politics and the media frequently pose critical questions tending to censorship or at least control of science. How does science react? On the one hand it cannot exist and develop without freedom: on the other hand this does not mean freedom to amass knowledge at any price and without restrictions. Thus, the scientist must balance freedom and ethical and social responsibility. This paper will reflect on the question of the limitations of science; who should control what and on which criteria
The demographic revolution
Authors: Diczfalusy Egon
Published: July 2009

Ten non-violent revolutions are considered, characteristic for the second half of the 20th century, that profoundly changed our world and our perception of it. Perhaps the most important of those, the demographic revolution, resulted in unprecedented changes both in population size and structure. An attempt is made to analyse the ‘big perhaps’, some of the incompletely comprehended economical, medical, social, ethical and political consequences of present and projected demographic changes.
The impact of the New Biology on ethics
Authors: Mittelstrass Jürgen
Published: July 2009

Developments in biology have raised important questions concerning the ethical basis on which these developments can be applied to human life and to the ecology of the world. This article explores these questions.
The impact of the New Biology on our philosophical view of the world, man and the environment
Authors: Føllesdal Dagfinn
Published: July 2009

The so-called New Biology has given us revolutionary insights into the nature of life and created an upsurge of popular interest in biology. However, it has also fostered an impression of ‘genetic determinism’ which been eagerly put to use in political ideology.
Ethics, Social epistemics, Electronic communication and Scientific research
Authors: van den Hoven M. J.
Published: July 2009

The most important ethical issues in the use of the Internet and World Wide Web in scientific research are considered together with some of the conceptual problems that arise as a result of applying new information technologies to old institutions. The paper concentrates on a set of issues relating to moral responsibility for the production, utilization and diffusion of scientific knowledge in a networked environment. A conclusion is that reliability of information and hence the individual scientist's capacity to take full moral responsibility may be compromised by the environment provided by the World Wide Web.
The pleasures of the past and the joy of history
Authors: Wesseling H. L.
Published: July 2009

Whether history as a discipline is of any practical use, is a question that is open to debate. That many people find pleasure in ‘doing’ history however, is an undeniable fact. Professional historians find pleasure in writing history and even more so in working in archives and thus getting immediately in touch with the past. Many others find pleasure in reading history. Increasingly, professional historians also succeed in reaching a wide readership.
Economic crisis and the culture of reform in Southeast Asia
Authors: Houben Vincent
Published: July 2009

The economic crisis in Southeast Asia has provoked a debate on the economic and political culture of the region. Is Asian capitalism really suffering from structural deficiencies or does it only signify the imposition of western ethnocentric values? Inside Southeast Asia, public discussion on the issue of corruption has erupted, involving culturally specific notions of what is acceptable or not. Likewise, unbridled exercise of power increasingly faces an indigenous demand for more accountability of the powerholders. The reform debate that is conducted between Southeast Asians themselves seems to be more promising than western calls for democracy and economic transparency.
The past of Europe's demographic future
Authors: Van De Kaa Dirk J.
Published: July 2009

The reproductive capacity of our species is far in excess of its needs. If all women used their reproductive potential to the full they would give birth to about 15 children on average. As averages of 6 or 7 were once sufficient to compensate for the high level of mortality, and higher numbers would have led to unacceptably high levels of population growth, that, presumably, is the level of fertility found in traditional European societies and in developing countries before the onset of fertility decline. In European societies, fertility decline began in the 19th century. It was a reaction to the disequilibrium that resulted from the long-term decline in mortality. However, a clear sequence cannot always be established. The assumption that prevailed in the 1950s and 1960s that this demographic transition, as it is customarily called, would lead to a new equilibrium appears not to have been well founded. Average family size has declined to such low levels that the age structure is seriously affected and the replacement of generations is no longer assured. A new disequilibrium has resulted. If this is a temporary phenomenon it is not an important issue. However, if it has to be assumed that future generations will also limit their reproduction to not more than 10% of their potential, the perspective is different. Even with continued high levels of immigration, population decline will then become inevitable. While some argue this will turn out to be beneficial, it is not without disadvantages.
Sustainable transport: new research and policy challenge for the next millennium
Authors: Nijkamp Peter
Published: July 2009

This exploratory paper aims to map out new research challenges centring around the theme of sustainable transport. The research needs on mobility behaviour and policy measures are also described. The paper concludes with an outline of new thinking in a largely unexplored research area.
The unmastered past: decolonization and Dutch collective memory
Authors: Houben Vincent J. H.
Published: July 2009

The decolonization of Indonesia is far from being a peripheral issue for Dutch national identity. Since the 1970s, but especially in 1995, public debate has erupted in an attempt to come to terms with this part of national history. The protestant ethic is still so strong that discussions revolve in particular around morality and a final verdict. Opinion leaders and historians have, however, not been able to solve the issue, so that the way in which the Netherlands lost their Southeast-Asian colony continues to trouble the Dutch self-image.
Synesius from Alexandria to Cyrene: sea, storms, and ships in the eyes of a man of late antiquity
Authors: Janni Pietro
Published: July 2009

In the first years of the fifth century AD a Greek gentleman in his early 30s embarked from the harbour of the great city of Alexandria on a sailing ship bound for his native Cyrene. It is a voyage of about 780 km, approximately the distance from Venice to the mouth of the Adriatic, or a little longer than from Hamburg to London. We are not sure about the season or the year; we only know that the voyage took place towards the end of a month; that is, a Greek lunar month, an ill-omened time for sailing, according to the belief of the Ancients. The traveller was Synesius, who belonged to a distinguished Cyrenian family, and was returning from a diplomatic mission in Constantinople, at the court of an Empire that would survive and bear the name ‘Roman’ for more than 1000 years. However, the empire of the ‘real’ Rome would find its real end in little more than 70 years.
Political freedom and economic freedom
Authors: Vivarelli Roberto
Published: July 2009

This article attempts to outline the development in our time of two ideas of freedom. At first, economic freedom depended on political freedom and the aim of both was moral improvement. From the beginning of the 20th century, economic freedom has become an end in itself and political freedom has given up any moral claim; both ideas of freedom are no longer what they were.
Towards a theory of the welfare state
Authors: Kaufmann Franz-Xaver
Published: July 2009

The understanding of welfare states hitherto suffers from characteristic biases – national, political and disciplinary. This paper proposes a generalized framework for international comparative research, which remains as neutral as possible to such biases. The guarantee of social rights for everybody and the issue of societal reproduction are taken as reference points to define the political criteria for social welfare. However, politics and social policies remain a partial aspect of the production of welfare in a given society. A theory of the welfare state has to take into account the interactions among household production, market production and associative forms of welfare production, on the one side, and of political interventions on the other.
The role of diversity in the culture of peace
Authors: Eteffa Mulugeta
Published: July 2009

This paper deals with what I think can be an aspect of the culture of peace, based on my own experience as a person coming from a multilingual, multicultural and multiethnic African Society. It also reflects the many encounters I have had with different people as Ethiopia's former ambassador to the United Nations and now France, Spain, Portugal, the Vatican and UNESCO. During my tour of duty and presentation of credentials to heads of state, I had talks with many very stimulating people, which had an impact on my thinking. However, I would like to mention just one, because it is most relevant to this paper.
The first page
Authors: Christin Anne-Marie
Published: July 2009

The page is defined as a textual support, whether the text be present or virtual. This phenomenon is not specific to our book- and alphabet-based civilization. The very invention of writing rests on an original means of exploiting the space inaugurated by the image, and on the questions raised by that particular kind of space. By calibrating and structuring this space, soothsayers established the laws of a system of signs specific to visual communication – divine visual communication – which was also capable of transcribing human language. Far from being the origin of writing, counting, on the other hand, was only developed and refined by being integrated into the page's space.
Facets of the cultural history of mathematics
Authors: Geiges Hansjörg
Published: July 2009

This article highlights the position of mathematics within general culture at various stages of the development of Western civilization. Special emphasis is given to the role of mathematics in Greek philosophy, the influence of mathematics on Gothic architecture and the place of mathematics in 17th and 18th century society. Literary quotations illustrate the shifts in the view of mathematics in society.
Japan in Europe and Sweden
Authors: Edström Bert
Published: July 2009

Until Japan opened its shores in the 1850s, images of Japan in Europe were meagre and long outdated. In Sweden, attitudes to Japan have been heavily influenced by the writings of Carl Peter Thunberg from 1793 and by the lack of imperial traditions as well as the strong national respect for equality
Satellite observations of the impact of dust in a low‐nutrient, low‐chlorophyll region: Fertilization or artifact?
Authors: Volpe Gianluca , Banzon Viva F. , Evans Robert H. , Santoleri Rosalia , Mariano Arthur J. , Sciarra Roberto
Published: July 2009

The coupling between dust aerosols and phytoplankton concentrations in the Mediterranean Sea, a low‐nutrient, low‐chlorophyll region, is examined at different timescales using Sea‐viewing Wide Field‐of‐view Sensor observations (1998–2002). Aerosol optical thickness (AOT) and chlorophyll (MCHL) were used as proxies for dust aerosol and phytoplankton biomass, respectively. The AOT data was qualified using quasi‐true color images in order to ascertain the presence of dust. Strong positive correlations were found between AOT and MCHL on weekly but not on seasonal timescales. However, weekly analyses cannot distinguish between real phytoplankton response and artifacts due to residual dust in the atmosphere or water. Daily time series of AOT and MCHL, for single‐dust events, and their temporal cross‐correlation function were analyzed. Apparent AOT‐driven MCHL increases principally occurred within 0–2 days and most cross correlations were significant at zero lag. In contrast, significant negative or positive correlations at lag greater than 2 days were very few, indicating no compelling evidence that dust enhancement of phytoplankton growth is significant and that the response at near‐zero lags is an artifact of the satellite data processing. Our analysis demonstrates that the dust fertilization does not play a significant role in the sustainment of the phytoplankton dynamics in the Mediterranean Sea.
Interannual variations in vital rates of copepods and euphausiids during the RISE study 2004–2006
Authors: Shaw C. Tracy , Feinberg Leah R. , Peterson William T.
Published: July 2009

The River Influences on Shelf Ecosystems (RISE) program investigated the role of the Columbia River plume in enhancing productivity in the upwelling zone off Washington during four cruises from 2004 to 2006. Measurements of growth rates and brood sizes of euphausiids and egg production rates of copepods were used as indices of secondary production to determine whether these rates differed (1) among cruises as a function of differences in upwelling strength and (2) with latitude, both within the RISE study area and between the coastal waters of Washington and Oregon. Euphausia pacifica growth rates were significantly higher during June 2006 than during July 2004 and June 2005 but not significantly different between the RISE study area and Newport Hydrographic (NH) Line, Oregon. Euphausiid brood sizes were significantly higher during August 2005 than during any other cruise for both E. pacifica and Thysanoessa spinifera; our experiments did not indicate that brood sizes were higher in the northern part of the RISE study region. E. pacifica broods were larger for NH than RISE, but T. spinifera broods were not. Significant differences in egg production rates (EPRs) were found among cruises for both Calanus pacificus and C. marshallae, with higher EPRs during August 2005. EPRs on other cruises were less than half the maximum rates known for these species. EPRs of C. marshallae were similar between RISE and NH; C. pacificus EPRs were significantly higher (lower) in the RISE region in 2005 (2006). Interannual differences in ocean conditions affected zooplankton production more strongly than differences in latitude.
Characteristics of warm season precipitating storms in the Arkansas–Red River basin
Authors: Tucker Donna F. , Li Xingong
Published: July 2009

Analysis of a multisensor precipitation product enables us to extract the precipitation from individual storms in the Arkansas–Red River drainage basin over a period of 11 years. We examine the year‐to‐year and intraseasonal variations of storm numbers, duration, sizes, and precipitation in the data set. Intraseasonal variations in numbers of storms exceed their year‐to‐year variations. More mountainous regions had greater numbers of storms than flatter regions. Most storms are small, last less than 2 h, and produce modest amounts of precipitation. The maximum size of storms and the number of storms are negatively correlated on a yearly basis. Midsummer months had a greater percentage of smaller storms but the storms were of longer average duration. We can roughly divide the storms into three different types, single ordinary cell storms, multiple storms (includes supercells), and mesoscale convective systems, and look at their year to year and intraseasonal variability in the data set. The most storms occur around 1700 local time but the most precipitation falls around 0100 local time. Storm duration was the most important factor determining how much precipitation storms generate per cell. We do not find that drought years or years with abundant precipitation had any particular characteristics but occur as a result of simultaneous occurrence of several features.
Seasonal and quasi‐biennial variations in the migrating diurnal tide observed by Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere, Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED)
Authors: Xu Jiyao , Smith A. K. , Liu H.‐L. , Yuan W. , Wu Qian , Jiang Guoying , Mlynczak M. G. , Russell J. M. , Franke S. J.
Published: July 2009

We present periodic variations of the migrating diurnal tide from Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere, Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) temperature and wind data from 2002 to 2007 and meteor radar data at Maui (20.75°N, 156.43°W). There are strong quasi‐biennial oscillation (QBO) signatures in the amplitude of the diurnal tidal temperature in the tropical region and in the wind near ±20°. The magnitude of the QBO in the diurnal tidal amplitude reaches about 3 K in temperature and about 7 m/s (Northern Hemisphere) and 9 m/s (Southern Hemisphere) in meridional wind. The period of the diurnal tide QBO is around 24–25 months in the mesosphere but is quite variable with altitude in the stratosphere. Throughout the mesosphere, the amplitude of the diurnal tide reaches maximum during March/April of years when the QBO in lower stratospheric wind is in the eastward phase. Because the tide shows amplification only during a limited time of the year, there are not enough data yet to determine whether the tidal variation is truly biennial (24‐month period) or is quasi‐biennial. The semiannual (SAO) and annual oscillations (AO) in the diurnal tide support previous findings: tidal amplitude is largest around equinoxes (SAO signal) and is larger during the vernal equinox (AO signal). TIMED Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (TIMED/SABER) temperature and atmospheric pressure data are used to calculate the balance wind and the tides in horizontal wind. The comparison between the calculations and the wind observed by TIMED Doppler Interferometer (TIDI) and meteor radar indicates qualitative agreement, but there are some differences as well.
Surface association of motile bacteria and apparent tortuosity values in packed column experiments
Authors: Narayanaswamy Karthik , Ford Roseanne M. , Smith James A. , Fernandez Erik J.
Published: July 2009

Mathematical models used previously to obtain transport parameters from experimental investigations of bacterial transport in packed columns by Olson et al. (2005) yielded apparent tortuosity values that were an order of magnitude higher than expected for packed beds. The association of motile bacteria with solid surfaces of porous media, due to their swimming, contributed to the large apparent tortuosity values evaluated from packed column experiments; a modification of the transport equations to account for surface association yielded tortuosity values that were physically more reasonable. Although it was not possible to uniquely determine values of the kinetic parameters for surface association because of limitations with the experimental methods used by Olson et al., it was possible to constrain the range of values. A theoretical derivation of the mean residence time for swimming bacteria at a surface provided qualitative and quantitative support for including surface association terms in the transport model. This analysis shows that surface association can be a significant factor in modeling bacterial migration, and consideration of bacterial swimming properties such as run lengths and turn angles is important for predicting bacterial transport in saturated granular media typical of groundwater environments.
Determining watershed response in data poor environments with remotely sensed small reservoirs as runoff gauges
Authors: Liebe J. R. , van de Giesen N. , Andreini M. , Walter M. T. , Steenhuis T. S.
Published: July 2009

In the semiarid regions of Africa, there are many small reservoirs used for irrigation. This study explores the practicality of using small reservoirs as runoff gauges by estimating their water storage changes using remote sensing imagery. A simple rainfall‐runoff model is developed by observing the surface area and estimating the volume of eight small reservoirs in the Upper East Region of Ghana and in Togo using Envisat advanced synthetic aperture radar satellite images. The model is based on the Thornthwaite‐Mather procedure and the assumption that with increasing precipitation, the contributing watershed area increases exponentially. The model parameters were estimated using the 2005 data and were validated using 2006 data. Although the total rainfall amounts were comparable in these 2 years, the rainfall and reservoir filling patterns were quite different. The model results indicate that the overall impact of the reservoirs largely depends on the ratios of reservoir to watershed areas. For this 2 year study, the reservoirs captured on average 34% of quick flow and 15% of overall runoff.
Spectral absorption properties of aerosol particles from 350–2500nm
Authors: Martins J. Vanderlei , Artaxo Paulo , Kaufman Yoram J. , Castanho Andrea D. , Remer Lorraine A.
Published: July 2009

The aerosol spectral absorption efficiency (αa in m2/g) is measured over an extended wavelength range (350–2500 nm) using an improved calibrated and validated reflectance technique and applied to urban aerosol samples from Sao Paulo, Brazil and from a site in Virginia, Eastern US, that experiences transported urban/industrial aerosol. The average αa values (∼3m2/g at 550 nm) for Sao Paulo samples are 10 times larger than αa values obtained for aerosols in Virginia. Sao Paulo aerosols also show evidence of enhanced UV absorption in selected samples, probably associated with organic aerosol components. This extra UV absorption can double the absorption efficiency observed from black carbon alone, therefore reducing by up to 50% the surface UV fluxes, with important implications for climate, UV photolysis rates, and remote sensing from space.
Coupled chemistry climate model simulations of stratospheric temperatures and their trends for the recent past
Authors: Austin J. , Wilson R. J. , Akiyoshi H. , Bekki S. , Butchart N. , Claud C. , Fomichev V. I. , Forster P. , Garcia R. R. , Gillett N. P. , Keckhut P. , Langematz U. , Manzini E. , Nagashima T. , Randel W. J. , Rozanov E. , Shibata K. , Shine K. P. , Struthers H. , Thompson D. W. J. , Wu F. , Yoden S.
Published: July 2009

Temperature results from multi‐decadal simulations of coupled chemistry climate models for the recent past are analyzed using multi‐linear regression including a trend, solar cycle, lower stratospheric tropical wind, and volcanic aerosol terms. The climatology of the models for recent years is in good agreement with observations for the troposphere but the model results diverge from each other and from observations in the stratosphere. Overall, the models agree better with observations than in previous assessments, primarily because of corrections in the observed temperatures. The annually averaged global and polar temperature trends simulated by the models are generally in agreement with revised satellite observations and radiosonde data over much of their altitude range. In the global average, the model trends underpredict the radiosonde data slightly at the top of the observed range. Over the Antarctic some models underpredict the temperature trend in the lower stratosphere, while others overpredict the trends.
New perspectives on the synoptic development of the severe October 1992 Nome storm
Authors: Mesquita Michel d. S. , Atkinson David E. , Simmonds Ian , Keay Kevin , Gottschalck Jon
Published: July 2009

Understanding the characteristics of storms that impact the Alaska region is of importance to emergency planning. The 5–7 October 1992 storm was a severe event which cost Nome, a town in Alaska, $6 million dollars. We will explore its characteristics with the aid of two established cyclone tracking schemes: the NOAA CPC current operational algorithm and the University of Melbourne algorithm. Manual tracking was performed as a control. The essential features are captured by both algorithms, but they differ in the genesis and lysis location. The NOAA algorithm broke the storm into two separate events. Synoptic development of the storm was influenced by a blocking high that affected how the tracking algorithms handled the event. A synoptic re‐examination of this storm is presented in terms of the depth, Laplacian and radius of the system. These new results present a fresh perspective on the intensity and longevity of this dramatic storm.
Online Training of New Curators
Authors: Gillespie Marc , Jassal Bijay
Published: July 2009

The basic information in Reactome is provided by bench biologists who are experts on a particular pathway, the Reactome Team is always working hard to drive engagement. This engagement between experts, curators, editors and reviewers requires maintenance and improvement, and in this sense Reactome is itself a model for large biocuration projects that are driven by community engagement. This tutorial will highlight issues from the perspective of online training participants, the trainer's and the audience's. From the audience perspective the tutorial will introduce the concepts that drive the Reactome data model, cover the basic steps that a researcher would have to follow in order to breakdown a biological pathway into its "reaction-based" Reactome representation. Introduce the user to the tools that are used by authors, the "authortool" and the tools used by curators, the "curatortool" to move that data into the Reactome database. From the trainer perspective the tutorial will focus on the essential role that a clear explanation of a resource's data model plays in priming the audience for the technical aspects of biocuration. Technical challenges and online delivery methods will be discussed and examples of systems used will be presented with discussion of the negative and positive aspects. Pedagogical models for enhancing audience participation will be briefly presented. The Reactome project is a collaboration among Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, The European Bioinformatics Institute, and The Gene Ontology Consortium to develop a curated resource of core pathways and reactions in human biology. The information in this database is authored by biological researchers with expertise in their fields, maintained by the Reactome editorial staff, and cross referenced with the sequence databases at NCBI, Ensembl and UniProt, the UCSC Genome Browser , KEGG (Gene and Compound ), ChEBI, PubMed and GO. The information is then managed by groups of curators at CSHL and EBI, peer-reviewed by other researchers and published on the web. While Reactome is targeted at human pathways, it also includes many individual biochemical reactions from non-human systems such as rat, mouse, pufferfish and zebrafish. This makes the database relevant to the many researchers who work on model organisms. All the information in Reactome is backed up by its provenance: either a literature citation or an electronic inference based on sequence similarity. Reactome is a free on-line resource, and Reactome software is open-source.
Shock-wave propagation through pristine a-SiC and carbon-nanotube-reinforced a-SiC matrix composites
Authors: Makeev Maxim A. , Sundaresh Suman , Srivastava Deepak
Published: July 2009

We report on the results of a large-scale molecular dynamics simulation study of shock-wave propagation in pristine amorphous silicon carbide and carbon-nanotube-reinforced amorphous silicon carbide matrix composites. We seek to understand the effects of ensembles of aligned nanotubes, both transversely and longitudinally oriented, on the shock-wave structure and dynamics and structural rearrangements taking place in the shock-loaded composite materials. It is found that the presence of aligned nanotubes in amorphous silicon carbide matrix leads to a reduction of shock-wave velocity and modifies the shock-wave front structure in a wide range of impact velocities. The temporal evolution of density profiles behind the shock-wave front is studied and conclusions are drawn regarding the effects of carbon nanotubes on the structural rearrangements in the shock-loaded composite materials. The mechanisms of carbon nanotube failure under shock loadings and their implications for energy dissipation rates in composite material systems are discussed for both considered cases of carbon nanotube alignments.
Interfacial and structural properties of sputtered HfO2 layers
Authors: Aygun G. , Yildiz I.
Published: July 2009

Magnetron sputtered HfO2 layers formed on a heated Si substrate were studied by spectroscopic ellipsometer (SE), x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) depth profiling techniques. The results show that the formation of a SiOx suboxide layer at the HfO2/Si interface is unavoidable. The HfO2 thickness and suboxide formation are highly affected by the growth parameters such as sputtering power, O2/Ar gas ratio during sputtering, sputtering time, and substrate temperature. XRD spectra show that the deposited film has (111) monoclinic phase of HfO2, which is also supported by FTIR spectra. The atomic concentration and chemical environment of Si, Hf, and O have been measured as a function of depth starting from the surface of the sample by XPS technique. It shows that HfO2 layers of a few nanometers are formed at the top surface. Below this thin layer, Si–Si bonds are detected just before the Si suboxide layer, and then the Si substrate is reached during the depth profiling by XPS. It is clearly understood that the highly reactive sputtered Hf atoms consume some of the oxygen atoms from the underlying SiO2 to form HfO2, leaving Si–Si bonds behind.
A zero-gravity instrument to study low velocity collisions of fragile particles at low temperatures
Authors: Salter D. M. , Heißelmann D. , Chaparro G. , van der Wolk G. , Reißaus P. , Borst A. G. , Dawson R. W. , de Kuyper E. , Drinkwater G. , Gebauer K. , Hutcheon M. , Linnartz H. , Molster F. J. , Stoll B. , van der Tuijn P. C. , Fraser H. J. , Blum J.
Published: July 2009

We discuss the design, operation, and performance of a vacuum setup constructed for use in zero (or reduced) gravity conditions to initiate collisions of fragile millimeter-sized particles at low velocity and temperature. Such particles are typically found in many astronomical settings and in regions of planet formation. The instrument has participated in four parabolic flight campaigns to date, operating for a total of 2.4 h in reduced-gravity conditions and successfully recording over 300 separate collisions of loosely packed dust aggregates and ice samples. The imparted particle velocities achieved range from 0.03 to 0.28 m s−1 and a high-speed, high-resolution camera captures the events at 107 frames/s from two viewing angles separated by either 48.8° or 60.0°. The particles can be stored inside the experiment vacuum chamber at temperatures of 80–300 K for several uninterrupted hours using a built-in thermal accumulation system. The copper structure allows cooling down to cryogenic temperatures before commencement of the experiments. Throughout the parabolic flight campaigns, add-ons and modifications have been made, illustrating the instrument flexibility in the study of small particle collisions.
Electrochemical proton-coupled electron transfer: Beyond the golden rule
Authors: Navrotskaya Irina , Hammes-Schiffer Sharon
Published: July 2009

Electrochemical proton-coupled electron transfer rate constant expressions that interpolate between the golden rule and solvent-controlled limits are derived. These expressions include the effects of solvent dynamics and thus are applicable for a wide range of vibronic couplings and solvent relaxation times. The golden rule limit is defined in terms of weak vibronic coupling and fast solvent relaxation, and the solvent-controlled limit is defined in terms of strong vibronic coupling and slow solvent relaxation. In the golden rule limit, the rate constant is proportional to the square of the vibronic coupling and is independent of the solvent relaxation time. In the solvent-controlled limit, the rate constant is independent of the vibronic coupling and increases as the solvent relaxation time decreases. The interconversion between the solvent-controlled and golden rule limits can be induced by altering the proton donor-acceptor mode frequency and the overlap between the reactant and product proton vibrational wave functions, as well as the electronic coupling, the solvent relaxation time, and the overpotential. The kinetic isotope effect behaves differently in the solvent-controlled and golden rule limits and thus provides a unique probe for characterizing electrochemical proton-coupled electron transfer processes. The analogous rate constant expressions for electrochemical electron transfer and homogeneous proton-coupled electron transfer are also presented. The impact of electrode overpotential, solvent relaxation time, and proton donor-acceptor mode frequency on the rate constants are analyzed for model systems.
Terahertz spectroscopy of plasma waves in high electron mobility transistors
Authors: Nouvel P. , Marinchio H. , Torres J. , Palermo C. , Gasquet D. , Chusseau L. , Varani L. , Shiktorov P. , Starikov E. , Gružinskis V
Published: July 2009

We report on systematic measurements of resonant plasma waves oscillations in several gate-length InGaAs high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) and compare them with numerical results from a specially developed model. A great concern of experiments has been to ensure that HEMTs were not subject to any spurious electronic oscillation that may interfere with the desired plasma-wave spectroscopy excited via a terahertz optical beating. The influence of geometrical HEMTs parameters as well as biasing conditions is then explored extensively owing to many different devices. Plasma resonances up to the terahertz are observed. A numerical approach, based on hydrodynamic equations coupled to a pseudo-two-dimensional Poisson solver, has been developed and is shown to render accurately from experiments. Using a combination of experimental results and numerical simulations all at once, a comprehensive spectroscopy of plasma waves in HEMTs is provided with a deep insight into the physical processes that are involved.
Dynamic monitoring of blood oxygen saturation in vivo using double-ring photoacoustic sensor
Authors: Yin Guangzhi , Xing Da , Yang Sihua
Published: July 2009

Photoacoustic (PA) can distinguish oxygenated main chromophores which are hemoglobin (HbO2) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (Hb) in blood by the optical absorption at multiple optical wavelengths. In this study, a noninvasive PA system with a double-ring sensor was used for fixed-point measurement of hemoglobin oxygen saturation (SO2) continually. The double-ring sensor is an ultrasonic Fresnel zone plate ultrasonic transducer. It has two-zone negative zone plate piezoelectric material pattern with good focusing effect for fixed-point detection of SO2. Three specific optical absorbed wavelengths (760, 805, and 850 nm) of HbO2 and Hb were employed sequentially to obtain PA signals and calculate the SO2 at each blood oxygen level. The capability and accuracy of the system were tested by phantom samples and in vitro blood samples, and the results of the PA detection were in excellent agreement with the data of the control group by the blood-gas analyzer. In in vivo studies, the SO2 of the artery and the vein in a rabbit ear were noninvasively detected. Furthermore, changes in the SO2 from normal to hypoxia and to hyperoxia due to the changed inhale gas were dynamically recorded by the PA system. The experimental results demonstrate that this PA SO2 measurement system has the potential for fixed-point detection and dynamic monitoring of blood oxygen saturation.
Path integral evaluation of equilibrium isotope effects
Authors: Zimmermann Tomáš , Vaníček Jiří
Published: July 2009

A general and rigorous methodology to compute the quantum equilibrium isotope effect is described. Unlike standard approaches, ours does not assume separability of rotational and vibrational motions and does not make the harmonic approximation for vibrations or rigid rotor approximation for the rotations. In particular, zero point energy and anharmonicity effects are described correctly quantum mechanically. The approach is based on the thermodynamic integration with respect to the mass of isotopes and on the Feynman path integral representation of the partition function. An efficient estimator for the derivative of free energy is used whose statistical error is independent of the number of imaginary time slices in the path integral, speeding up calculations by a factor of ∼60 at 500 K and more at room temperature. We describe the implementation of the methodology in the molecular dynamics package AMBER 10. The method is tested on three [1,5] sigmatropic hydrogen shift reactions. Because of the computational expense, we use ab initio potentials to evaluate the equilibrium isotope effects within the harmonic approximation and then the path integral method together with semiempirical potentials to evaluate the anharmonicity corrections. Our calculations show that the anharmonicity effects amount up to 30% of the symmetry reduced reaction free energy. The numerical results are compared with recent experiments of Doering et al., [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 128, 9080 (2006); J. Am. Chem. Soc.129, 2488 (2007)] confirming the accuracy of the most recent measurement on 2,4,6,7,9-pentamethyl-5-(5,5-H22)methylene-11,11a-dihydro-12H-naphthacene as well as concerns about compromised accuracy, due to side reactions, of another measurement on 2-methyl-10-(10,10-H22)methylenebicyclo[4.4.0]dec-1-ene.