bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fatal Course of Foodborne Botulism in an Eigth-Month Old Infant
Authors: Lonati Davide , Locatelli Carlo Alessandro , Fenicia Lucia , Anniballi Fabrizio , Landri Paolo , Giampreti Andrea , Petrolini Valeria Margherita , Vecchio Sarah , Manzo Luigi
Published: December 2011

An 8-month old girl, weighing 9 kg, was brought by her parents at 8.15 am to the Emergency Department (ED) for a progressive worsening of weakness and acute respiratory failure. On admission, the baby presented with poor oral intake, a weak cry and extremely weak muscular body control. Poor gag and suck, unreactive mydriasis, hypotonia, lethargy and absence of peristalsis were noted. Laboratory data showed severe respiratory acidosis. Chest X-ray, electroencephalography, encephalic CT scan and MRI were all normal, as were cerebrospinal fluid analysis and viral tests. Orotracheal intubation and continuous mechanical ventilation were applied. The patient received fluids, corticosteroids, aerosol therapy, large-spectrum antibiotics and enteral- nutrition. Further investigation revealed ingestion of an improperly prepared homecanned homogenized turkey meal. Type A botulinum neurotoxin was identified. Trivalent botulinum antitoxin, prostigmine and oral activated charcoal were administered. Generalized flaccid paralysis, areflexic bilateral mydriasis, gastric stasis and deep coma persisted for the duration of the hospital stay, and the patient died of severe respiratory failure and cardiac arrest 12 days after ED admission. Botulism poisoning should be suspected in any infant presenting with feeding difficulties, constipation, descendent paralysis or acute respiratory failure. Supportive treatment and antidotal therapy should be performed as soon as a clinical diagnosis is made. We describe a case of foodborne botulism in an 8-month old infant caused by ingestion of an improperly prepared home-canned homogenized turkey meal, representing the youngest fatal case reported in medical literature.
Procedural Pain Management in Italy: Learning From a Nationwide Survey Involving Centers of the Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology
Authors: Po' Chiara , Benini Franca , Sainati Laura , Farina Maria Immacolata , Cesaro Simone , Agosto Caterina
Published: December 2011

Procedural pain is an important aspect of care in pediatrics, and particularly in pediatric oncology where children often consider this to be the most painful experience during their illness. Best recommended practice to control procedural pain includes both sedative-analgesic administration and non-pharmacological treatments, practiced in an adequate and pleasant setting by skilled staff. A nationwide survey has been conducted among the Italian Centers of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology to register operators’ awareness on procedural pain, state of the art procedural pain management, operators’ opinions about pain control in their center, and possible barriers impeding sedation-analgesia administration. Based on indications in the literature, we discuss the results of the survey to highlight critical issues and suggest future directions for improvement. Future objectives will be to overcome differences depending on size, improve operators’ beliefs about the complexity of pain experience, and promote a global approach to procedural pain.
Primary tracheal adenocystic carcinoma and tracheal tumors during pregnancy
Authors: Abike Faruk , Bingol Banu , Temizkan Osman , Dunder Ilkkan , Kilic Gokhan Sami , Cetin Guven , Gundogdu Cem
Published: December 2011

Cancer complicates approximately 0.1% of all pregnancies. Primary tracheal carcinoma is one of very rarely seen tumors and the rate of its being seen makes up approximately % 0.2 of all tumors of respiratory tract. The patient, 28 years old, who has 28-weeks-pregnant, was diagnosed with primary tracheal adenocystic carcinoma. Patient was made operation as thoracotomy and tracheal tumor was removed at the 28th week of pregnancy. Patient was delivered with sectio abdominale at the 39th week of pregnancy. Primary tracheal adenocystic carcinoma is very rarely seen tumors and it is the first tracheal ACC with pregnancy case in literature to have been detected and surgically treated during pregnancy. We discussed primary tracheal adenocystic carcinoma and tracheal tumors during pregnancy with literature.
Adult type granulosa cell tumor in adult testis: report of a case and review of the literature
Authors: Song Zhao , Vaughn David J. , Bing Zhanyong
Published: December 2011

Granulosa cell tumors can be classified into juvenile and adult types and more commonly occur in ovaries. Adult testicular granulosa cell tumors are extremely rare and only 29 cases of adult type have previously been reported. We report here a 28-year old Caucasian man with a left testicular adult type granulosa cell tumor. The tumor measured 2.6×2.6×2.5 cm and was mitotically active (10/10 HPF). Immunohistochemical stains showed the tumor diffusely positive for inhibin and vimentin, and negative for epithelial membrane antigen, cytokeratins, synaptophysin, HMB-45, OCT-4, placental-like alkaline phosphatase and lymphoid markers. The reported granulosa cell tumors in adult testis were briefly reviewed.
Solitary metastatic clear cell carcinoma to the spleen
Authors: Zayed Mohamed A. , Kosek Jon , Wren Sherry M.
Published: December 2011

A 57-year-old with a 9-year history of increased abdominal girth, presented with increased abdominal pain, anemia, and acute renal failure. His past medical history was only remarkable for a previous lung cancer 21 years ago that was treated with a right upper lung lobectomy. A computed tomography (CT) scan of the patient's abdomen showed a solitary 20×20×25cm cystic splenic mass. The patient underwent an urgent splenectomy. Intra-operatively a large splenic cystic cavity was found with a solid inferior splenic mass. An exhaustive histological analysis of the splenic mass confirmed a clear cell carcinoma with low malignant potential that likely represented a metastatic lesion from the patient's previous distant lung cancer. Postoperatively the patient recovered well and at 1-year followup the patient demonstrated no further evidence of metastatic disease. This case is extremely unique and provides a very rare example of a metastatic solitary clear cell carcinoma to the spleen, with a presumed latency period of more than 20 years.
Small intestine perforation due to metastatic uterine cervix interdigitating dendritic cell sarcoma: a rare manifestation of a rare disease
Authors: Mahamid Ahmad , Alfici Ricardo , Troitsa Anton , Anderman Shmuel , Groisman Gabriel , Zeina Abdel-Rauf
Published: December 2011

Interdigitating Dendritic Cell Sarcoma (IDCS) is an infrequent dendritic cell tumor which mainly affects the lymphatic system. Intestinal metastasis from uterine IDCS is extremely rare. Here we report a case of a 76-year-old female presenting with vaginal bleeding and acute abdomen. The final diagnosis revealed a small bowel perforation due to metastatic involvement from uterine cervix IDCS. In this paper, we report the clinical manifestation, computed tomography and histopathological findings helpful for the accurate diagnosis of this rare tumor.
Successful radiotherapy for local control of progressively increasing metastasis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor
Authors: Lolli Cristian , Pantaleo Maria Abbondanza , Nannini Margherita , Saponara Maristella , Pallotti Maria Caterina , Di Scioscio Valerio , Barbieri Enza , Mandrioli Anna , Biasco Guido
Published: December 2011

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are known to be poorly responsive to conventional chemotherapy and historically considered resistant to radiotherapy. In the past the mainstay of GIST treatment was surgery, but the introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) imatinib and sunitinib marked the beginning of a new era in the treatment of GIST patients. To date, radiotherapy for GIST has not been administered in clinical practice except for limited palliative settings and there are no clear data on the administration of radiotherapy, alone or in combination with TKIs, with a purely cytoreductive intent. We describe the clinical case of a 48-year-old woman with metastatic GIST treated with external radiotherapy in a critical supraclavicular tumor localization progressively increasing in size with several symptoms and not responsive to systemic TKI therapies. We obtained an initial shrinkage of the mass and subsequent stabilization with an immediate and clear clinical benefit. Although the historical medical literature considered GISTs resistant to radiation therapy, our clinical case suggests this treatment may be appropriate in selected patients.
Comentário Crítico Sobre Revisão Sistemática Baseado no Artigo:
Authors: Carvalho Fernando Rodrigues de , Lentini-Oliveira Débora Aparecida , Machado Marco Antonio Cardoso , Carvalho João Eduardo Coin de , Barros Márcia Regina , Prado Lucila Bizari Fernandes do , De Carvalho Luciane B Coin de , Prado Gilmar Fernandes do
Published: December 2011

Introdução. A quantidade de informação científica disponível é muito grande e crescente. As revisões sistemáticas (RS) auxiliam no processo de aproveitar essas informações na prática clínica. Uma RS pode agru­par os resultados dos estudos que a originaram por um método estatís­tico da metanálise. O objetivo foi discutir o conceito de RS a partir do artigo de Hirst & Sloan, sobre o uso de benzodiazepínicos para insônia em pacientes com doença crônica. Método. Foi realizada busca na Co­chrane Library; Medline; Embase; PsychInfo; segundo estratégia elabo­rada pelo “Cochrane Pain, Palliative Care And Supportive Care Group Search Strategy”. Resultados. Não foram encontrados ensaios clínicos sobre esse assunto. Conclusão. Não há como se recomendar qualquer intervenção para a insônia em pacientes “terminais” que seja indiscu­tivelmente qualificada. Resultados negativos como este não significam que a medicação não tem efeito. Pode-se dizer que não é possível saber se o efeito observado foi pela medicação, mas não foi possível demons­trá-lo. Comentário. Esta é ainda a mais frequente conclusão de Revisão Sistemática, ensejando sensação de descrédito e perda ao mesmo leitor que busca sua fortaleza na ciência. Neste artigo tentamos demons­trar que a RS é exatamente o mesmo produto de nossa ciência diária.
Grassroots Efforts Pursue Alcohol Policy Reform: Refocusing Upstream in New Mexico
Authors: Stivers Cathie
Published: December 2011

Organization Setting.

The New Mexico Alcohol Issues Consortium (NMAIC) originated in January 1989 as a grassroots effort to focus on the reduction of driving-while-intoxicated (DWI) in New Mexico. It was the brainchild of three state health department officials and grew to include in its membership representatives from education, medicine, law enforcement, neighborhood associations, business, and local and state government.

Rationale.

New Mexico ranks at or near the top in several alcohol-related statistics, including motor vehicle fatalities, cirrhosis, and alcoholism. Furthermore, the ‘alcohol environment’ in New Mexico included the allowance for the purchase of alcoholic beverages at drive-up windows, lax enforcement of DWI laws, and even state legislators with DWI records. Theoretical bases upon which NMAIC goals and strategies were based include the public health model, the public health/dynamic systems model of alcohol and other drug use, and ‘refocusing upstream’, all of which give attention to the environment as a determinant of health status.

Implementation.

While the NMAIC's activities addressed a variety of alcohol-related problems in New Mexico, the bulk of the organization's efforts for four years were directed toward increasing the excise tax on alcohol, either as a statewide measure or via county-level local option referenda. Strategies which were enacted to support this legislative activity included collaboration with other programs and organizations with similar DWI-prevention goals, and staged media events to solicit public support.

Impact.

In four years, the NMAIC had established itself as a credible organization which was successful in publicly and systematically challenging existing alcohol policies in New Mexico. The NMAIC was also instrumental in empowering individuals and communities to speak and act against the alcohol problems in their own communities. Finally, during the 1993 New Mexico Legislative Session, a bill was passed which mandated a statewide excise tax increase on alcohol. For its efforts, the NMAIC has won one national level award and one state level award for its contribution to the public health of New Mexico.

Discussion.

The NMAIC is now pursuing passage of the local option version of the excise tax increase bill, because it could generate up to three limes as much revenue as the new statewide increase. Additionally, Consortium members have escalated discussions regarding nonprofit status for the NMAIC, and developing a more formal mechanism for determining leadership. Members continue their participation in trainings on community organizing, media advocacy, and alcohol policy reform.
Ten Years of Anti-Smoking Programs in Italy: A Review
Authors: Arciti Carla , Pistone Mario , Persici Paola , Barbieri Angelo , Santi Leonardo
Published: December 2011

A diverse anti-smoking program for the prevention of cancer and cardiovascular diseases has been ongoing in Italy since 1981, coordinated by the National Cancer Institute of Genoa and the Italian League Against Cancer of Genoa. The program includes several initiatives addressed to different target groups; schoolchildren and teachers, military personnel, doctors and nurses, and women. A preliminary inquiry on the attitudes and habits towards smoking was implemented by the distribution of questionnaires to the various groups involved in the program. An annual school-based anti-smoking program involves about 10,000 students aged four to 18 and their teachers. Meetings are delivered by experts to groups of 20 to 40 students with the aid of specific audiovisual material, which are periodically updated. Additional informative material, leaflets, and posters are distributed to both schoolchildren and teachers.

Another educational program on primary prevention of smoking-related health hazards is addressed to military recruits, career soldiers, and medical officers. It consists of several initiatives: training of military doctors and nurses, lectures to military recruits, and distribution of informative material in the barracks. An annual meeting is organized to discuss program implementation and results.

Surveys are carried out by distributing an anonymous questionnaire to health professionals in several Italian hospitals to assess the smoking habits of doctors and their attitudes and practices towards counseling patients against smoking. The results show marked differences in smoking habits in the cities under study.
Review of Spiritual Health: Definition, Role, and Intervention Strategies in Health Promotion
Authors: Hawks Steven R. , Hull Melisa L. , Thalman Rebecca L. , Richins Paul M.
Published: December 2011

Purpose of the Review.

Recognition of the spiritual dimension as a vital component of human wellness has led to an increased interest in spirituality education, yet very little progress has been made in identifying possible intervention methods for enhancing spirituality. The purpose of this article is to review current definitions of spiritual health; provide an overview of several successful intervention methods that may enhance spiritual health; and outline potential relationships between spiritual health interventions and behavioral, emotional, and physical health outcomes.

Search Method Used.

Research and review articles were identified through a CD-ROM computer search of ERIC (1966 to 1994), PSYCHLIT (1974 to 1994), and MEDLINE (1991 to 1994) databases using appropriate key words. Cumulative indexes from Advances (1984 to 1993) were manually searched, and reference lists from identified studies and literature reviews were analyzed. A total of 71 articles were identified and considered. Model interventions were chosen for presentation on the basis of soundness of research design, peer-review publication, clear description of intervention method, and relationship to spiritual health components.

Summary of Important Findings.

Imagery, meditation, and group support activities may address various components of spiritual health such as meaning and purpose in life; self-awareness; and connectedness with self others, and a larger reality. In turn, positive changes in health behaviors such as communication, diet activity, and treatment compliance were noted, and a variety of beneficial physical and emotional health outcomes such as heart disease, reversal, decreased cancer mortality, reduced anxiety, and improved mood states were reported.

Major Conclusions.

Health educators are in a position to develop, implement, and evaluate spiritual health interventions within the context of comprehensive programs. There is a need for training in the theoretical and methodologic foundations of interventions like meditation, imagery, and group support and a need for more evaluation research in the impact of such interventions.
Efficacy of Computerized Health Risk Appraisal as Part of a Periodic Health Examination at the Worksite
Authors: Gemson Donald H. , Sloan Richard P.
Published: December 2011

Purpose.

To evaluate the efficacy of computerized health risk appraisal (HRA) when it is incorporated into a periodic health examination at the worksite.

Design.

A randomized, controlled trial comparing change in health behaviors for a 6-month follow-up period was conducted.

Setting.

A large financial services firm in New York City.

Subjects.

A total of 161 employees who volunteered for a worksite periodic health examination.

Intervention.

All employees received a physician-based history and physical examination, including laboratory tests, and were counseled on the basis of the results. Half the employees were randomly assigned, to receive an HRA report, with counseling from the 1984 version of the Centers for Disease Control HRA, whereas the other half completed the HRA questionnaire but received no HRA report or counseling.

Measures.

Blood pressure, cholesterol, and weight were measured by project staff physical activity and seatbelt use were measured by self-report, and change in computerized appraised age was calculated by the HRA program.

Results.

Evaluation of the 90 participants who returned for follow-up revealed a statistically significant improvement in computerized appraised age and physical activity in those who had received the HRA report and counseling compared with those who had not (p <.05), and also showed trends toward greater improvement in blood pressure, weight, and seatbelt use.

Conclusions.

Results provide support for the efficacy of HRA when incorporated into a periodic health examination at the worksite.
The influence of eruption season on the global aerosol evolution and radiative impact of tropical volcanic eruptions
Authors: Toohey M. , Krüger K. , Niemeier U. , Timmreck C.
Published: December 2011

Abstract. Simulations of tropical volcanic eruptions using a general circulation model with coupled aerosol microphysics are used to assess the influence of season of eruption on the aerosol evolution and radiative impacts at the Earth's surface. This analysis is presented for eruptions with SO2 injection magnitudes of 17 and 700 Tg, the former consistent with estimates of the 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption, the later a near-"super eruption". For each eruption magnitude, simulations are performed with eruptions at 15° N, at four equally spaced times of year. Sensitivity to eruption season of aerosol optical depth (AOD), clear-sky and all-sky shortwave (SW) radiative flux is quantified by first integrating each field for four years after the eruption, then calculating for each cumulative field the absolute or percent difference between the maximum and minimum response from the four eruption seasons. Eruption season has a significant influence on AOD and clear-sky SW radiative flux anomalies for both eruption magnitudes. The sensitivity to eruption season for both fields is generally weak in the tropics, but increases in the mid- and high latitudes, reaching maximum values of ~75 %. Global mean AOD and clear-sky SW anomalies show sensitivity to eruption season on the order of 15–20 %, which results from differences in aerosol effective radius for the different eruption seasons. Smallest aerosol size and largest cumulative impact result from a January eruption for Pinatubo-magnitude eruption, and from a July eruption for the near-super eruption. In contrast to AOD and clear-sky SW anomalies, all-sky SW anomalies are found to be insensitive to season of eruption for the Pinatubo-magnitude eruption experiment, due to the reflection of solar radiation by clouds in the mid- to high latitudes. However, differences in all-sky SW anomalies between eruptions in different seasons are significant for the larger eruption magnitude, and the ~15 % sensitivity to eruption season of the global mean all-sky SW anomalies is comparable to the sensitivity of global mean AOD and clear-sky SW anomalies. Our estimates of sensitivity to eruption season are larger than previously reported estimates: implications regarding volcanic AOD timeseries reconstructions and their use in climate models are discussed.
Geographic and seasonal distributions of CO transport pathways and their roles in determining CO centers in the upper troposphere
Authors: Huang L. , Fu R. , Jiang J. H. , Wright J. S. , Luo M.
Published: December 2011

Abstract. Past studies have identified various pathways along which carbon monoxide (CO) in the tropical upper troposphere (UT) may have been transported from the surface. However, the roles that these transport pathways play in determining the locations and seasonality of CO in the tropical UT remain unclear. In particular, UT CO peaks during the spring and fall seasons when surface CO emission and deep atmospheric convection are moderate relative to those observed during winter and summer. We have developed a method to automate the identification of three pathways that transport CO to the UT, which makes joint use of several A-Train satellite measurements. We use this method to show that the locations and seasonality of the major UT CO centers in the tropics during 2007 were largely determined by local convective transport. On average, the "local convection" pathway, in which convection occurred within a fire region, transported significantly more CO to the UT than the "LT advection → convection" pathway, in which CO was advected within the lower troposphere from a fire region to a convective region prior to convection. To leading order, the seasonality of CO concentrations in the tropical UT followed the seasonality of the "local convection" transport pathway. The centers of highest CO peaked over Central Africa during boreal spring and over South America during austral spring, when the "local convection" transport pathway was most prevalent. During boreal winter and summer, surface CO emission and convection were located in opposite hemispheres, limiting the effectiveness of transport to the UT. In these seasons, CO was mainly transported to the UT via the "LT advection → convection" pathway, in which CO was advected within the lower troposphere from fire source regions in the winter hemisphere to convective regions in the summer hemisphere, or via the "UT advection" pathway, in which UT CO was redistributed from the summer hemisphere to the winter hemisphere.
Parameterization of black carbon aging in the OsloCTM2 and implications for regional transport to the Arctic
Authors: Lund M. T. , Berntsen T.
Published: December 2011

Abstract. A critical parameter for the atmospheric lifetime of black carbon (BC) aerosols, and hence for the range over which the particles can be transported, is the aging time, i.e. the time before the aerosols become available for removal by wet deposition. This study compares two different parameterizations of BC aging in the chemistry transport model OsloCTM2: (i) a bulk parameterization (BULK) where aging is represented by a constant transfer to hydrophilic mode and (ii) a microphysical module (M7) where aging occurs through particle interaction and where the particle size distribution is accounted for. We investigate the effect of including microphysics on the distribution of BC globally and in the Arctic. We also focus on the impact on estimated contributions to Arctic BC from selected emission source regions. With more detailed microphysics (M7) there are regional and seasonal variations in aging. The aging is slower during high-latitude winter, when the production of sulfate is lower, than in lower latitudes and during summer. High-latitude concentrations of BC are significantly increased during winter compared to BULK. Furthermore, M7 improves the model performance at high Arctic surface stations, especially the accumulation of BC during winter. A proper representation of vertical BC load is important because the climate effects of the aerosols depend on their altitude in the atmosphere. Comparisons with measured vertical profiles indicate that the model generally overestimates the BC load, particularly at higher altitudes, and this overestimation is exacerbated with M7 compared to BULK. Both parameterizations show that north of 65° N emissions in Europe contribute most to atmospheric BC concentration and to BC in snow and ice. M7 leads to a pronounced seasonal pattern in contributions and contributions from Europe and Russia increase strongly during winter compared to BULK. There is generally a small increase in the amount of BC in snow and ice with M7 compared to BULK, but concentrations are still underestimated relative to measurements.
CO2(ν2)-O quenching rate coefficient derived from coincidental SABER/TIMED and Fort Collins lidar observations of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere
Authors: Feofilov A. G. , Kutepov A. A. , She C.-Y. , Smith A. K. , Pesnell W. D. , Goldberg R. A.
Published: December 2011

Abstract. Among the processes governing the energy balance in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT), the quenching of CO2(ν2)-O vibrational levels by collisions with O atoms plays an important role. However, there is a factor of 3–4 discrepancy between various measurements of the CO2-O quenching rate coefficient, kVT. We retrieve kVT in the altitude region 80–110 km from coincident SABER/TIMED and Fort Collins sodium lidar observations by minimizing the difference between measured and simulated broadband limb 15 μm radiances. The retrieved kVT varies from about 5 × 10−12 cm3 s−1 at 87 km to about 7 × 10−12 cm3 s−1 at 104 km. A detailed consideration of retrieval errors and uncertainties indicates deficiency in current understanding the non-LTE formation mechanism of atmospheric 15 μm radiances. An updated mechanism of CO2-O collisional interactions is suggested.
Hydrometeorological extremes and their impacts, as derived from taxation records for south-eastern Moravia, Czech Republic, AD 1751–1900
Authors: Brázdil R. , Chromá K. , Valášek H. , Dolák L.
Published: December 2011

Abstract. Historical written records associated with tax relief at ten estates located in south-eastern Moravia (Czech Republic) are used for the study of hydrometeorological extremes and their impacts during the period AD 1751–1900. At the time, the taxation system in Moravia allowed farmers to request tax relief if their crop yields had been negatively affected by hydrological and meteorological extremes. The documentation involved contains information about the type of extreme event and the date of its occurrence, while the impact on crops may often be derived. A total of 175 extreme events resulting in some kind of damage is documented for 1751–1900, with the highest concentration between 1811 and 1860 (74.9% of all events analysed). The nature of events leading to damage (of a possible 272 types) include hailstorm (25.7%), torrential rain (21.7%), and flood (21.0%), followed by thunderstorm, flash flood, late frost and windstorm. The four most outstanding events, affecting the highest number of settlements, were thunderstorms with hailstorms (25 June 1825, 20 May 1847 and 29 June 1890) and flooding of the River Morava (mid-June 1847). Hydrometeorological extremes in the 1816–1855 period are compared with those occurring during the recent 1961–2000 period. The results obtained are inevitably influenced by uncertainties related to taxation records, such as their temporal and spatial incompleteness, the limits of the period of outside agricultural work (i.e. mainly May–August) and the purpose for which they were originally collected (primarily tax alleviation, i.e. information about hydrometeorological extremes was of secondary importance). Taxation records constitute an important source of data for historical climatology and historical hydrology and have a great potential for use in many European countries.
Consistency between hydrological model, large aperture scintillometer and remote sensing based evapotranspiration estimates for a heterogeneous catchment
Authors: Samain B. , Simons G. W. H. , Voogt M. P. , Defloor W. , Bink N.-J. , Pauwels V. R. N.
Published: December 2011

Abstract. The catchment averaged actual evapotranspiration rate is a hydrologic model variable that is difficult to quantify. Evapotranspiration rates can – up till present – not be continuously observed at the catchment scale. The objective of this paper is to estimate the evapotranspiration rates (or its energy equivalent, the latent heat fluxes LE) for a heterogeneous catchment of 102.3 km2 in Belgium using three fundamentally different algorithms. One possible manner to observe this variable could be the continuous measurement of sensible heat fluxes (H) across large distances (in the order of kilometers) using a Large Aperture Scintillometer (LAS), and inverting these observations into evapotranspiration rates. Latent heat fluxes are obtained through the energy balance equation using a series of sensible heat fluxes (H) measured with a LAS over a distance of 9.5 km in the catchment, and point measurements of net radiation (Rn) and ground heat flux (G) upscaled to catchment average through the use of TOPLATS, a physically based land surface model. The resulting LE-values are then validated by comparing them to results from the remote sensing based surface energy balance algorithm ETLook and the land surface model. Firstly, it is demonstrated that ETLook is able to estimate the energy balance terms for daily time steps at the point scale and at the catchment scale. Secondly, consistency between daily evapotranspiration rates from ETLook, TOPLATS and LAS is shown. As such, ETLook provides the opportunity to estimate continuous series of the energy balance terms of a large area for daily time steps and can thus e.g. be used as a validation tool for LAS-measurements, whereas LAS is able to estimate the latent heat fluxes (evapotranspiration rates) for a large and heterogeneous catchment at an hourly time step which can be used for the forcing or validation of hydrologic models.
Multimodel evaluation of twenty lumped hydrological models under contrasted climate conditions
Authors: Seiller G. , Anctil F. , Perrin C.
Published: December 2011

Abstract. This paper proposes a methodology to interpret hydrological projections in a climate change context and to quantify model suitability as well as their potential transposability in time. This is achieved by applying the Differential Split Sample Test procedure on twenty lumped conceptual models, for two different catchments, in the Province of Québec (Canada) and in the State of Bavaria (Germany). First, a calibration/validation procedure was applied on four historical non-continuous periods with contrasted climate conditions. Then, model efficiency was quantified individually (for each model) and collectively (for the model ensemble). The individual analysis evaluated model performance and robustness. The ensemble investigation, based on the average of simulated discharges, focused on the twenty-member ensemble and all possible model subsets. Results showed that using a single model without performing a Differential Split Sample Test may provide hazardous results in terms of climate transposability. Overall, some models turned out as a good compromise in terms of performance and robustness, but never as much as the twenty-model ensemble. Model subsets offered yet improved performance and structural diversity, but at the expanse of spatial transposability.
Summarising changes in air temperature over Central Europe by quantile regression and clustering
Authors: Barbosa S. M. , Scotto M. G. , Alonso A. M.
Published: December 2011

Abstract. The analysis of trends in air temperature observations is one of the most common activities in climate change studies. This work examines the changes in daily mean air temperature over Central Europe using quantile regression, which allows the estimation of trends, not only in the mean but in all parts of the data distribution. A bootstrap procedure is applied for assessing uncertainty on the derived slopes and the resulting distributions are summarised via clustering. The results show considerable spatial diversity over the central European region. A distinct behaviour is found for lower (5%) and upper (95%) quantiles, with higher trends around 0.15 °C decade−1 at the 5% quantile and around 0.20 °C decade−1 at the 95% quantile, the largest trends (>0.2 °C decade−1) occurring in the Alps.
Analyzing Molecular Interactions
Authors: Petsko Gregory A. , Yates John R.
Published: December 2011

Molecular interactions are key processes that drive the functions of molecules. Large data sets of protein interaction data are being assembled that will help analyze structural and functional aspects of interactions. This chapter introduces techniques for analyzing both the structural aspects of molecular interactions and methods to use this information to understand and define biological pathways. Curr. Protoc. Bioinform. 36:8.1.1‐8.1.4. © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Using QIIME to Analyze 16S rRNA Gene Sequences from Microbial Communities
Authors: Kuczynski Justin , Stombaugh Jesse , Walters William Anton , González Antonio , Caporaso J. Gregory , Knight Rob
Published: December 2011

QIIME (canonically pronounced “chime”) is a software application that performs microbial community analysis. It is an acronym for Quantitative Insights Into Microbial Ecology, and has been used to analyze and interpret nucleic acid sequence data from fungal, viral, bacterial, and archaeal communities. The following protocols describe how to install QIIME on a single computer and use it to analyze microbial 16S sequence data from nine distinct microbial communities. Curr. Protoc. Bioinform. 36:10.7.1‐10.7.20. © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
An Introduction to the Informatics of “Next‐Generation” Sequencing
Authors: Stein Lincoln D.
Published: December 2011

Next‐generation sequencing (NGS) packs the sequencing throughput of a 2000's‐era genome center into a single affordable machine. However, software developed for conventional sequencing technologies is often inadequate to deal with the nature of NGS technologies, which produce short, massively parallel reads. This unit surveys the software packages that are available for managing and analyzing NGS data. Curr. Protoc. Bioinform. 36:11.1.1‐11.1.9. © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Identification of Novel and Known miRNAs in Deep‐Sequencing Data with miRDeep2
Authors: Mackowiak Sebastian D.
Published: December 2011

miRNAs comprise an abundant class of small non‐coding RNAs that play important roles in a wide range of biological processes by post‐transcriptional regulation of a large fraction of animal genes. High‐throughput sequencing machines and the availability of completely sequenced genomes make it possible to reliably identify miRNAs with computational methods. This unit documents how to use the miRDeep2 software package to identify novel and known microRNAs in small RNA deep‐sequencing data. Moreover, the usage of miRDeep2 to profile miRNA expression across samples is illustrated. Curr. Protoc. Bioinform. 36:12.10.1‐12.10.15. © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Actinides: Organometallic Chemistry
Authors: Burns Carol J. , Clark David L. , Sattelberger Alfred P.
Published: December 2011

An actinide organometallic complex is one containing an actinide‐carbon π‐bond, an actinide‐carbon σ‐bond, or a combination of both. Actinide organometallic complexes are known for the actinide (An) elements from thorium through californium; the vast majority of the reports on organoactinide compounds, however, deal with thorium and uranium. The latter elements have isotopes, for example, thorium‐232 (t1/2 = 1.41 × 1010years) and uranium‐238 (t1/2 = 4.468 × 109years), with extremely long half‐lives. Modern organoactinide chemistry is characterized by the existence not only of actinide analogs to many classes of d transition metal complexes, but increasingly common reports of compounds and types of reactions unique to the actinide series.
Alloys
Authors: Giessen Bill C. , Hidalgo Rafael
Published: December 2011

This article treats the current state of fundamental understanding, development, and applications of alloys, with emphasis on alloy chemistry rather than physical metallurgy. First, alloy phases and phase diagrams are treated from a computational viewpoint. Next, technical alloys, including steels, aluminum alloys, superalloys, and titanium alloys, are reviewed; structural intermetallics are treated as a paradigm for theoretical predictive methods. A review of important specialty alloys follows, including hard and soft magnetic alloys, superconductors, shape memory, and magnetostrictive alloys, hydrogen storage alloys, solders, and alloy coatings. A brief survey of current advanced alloy preparation and characterization methods concludes the article.
Aluminum: Organometallic ChemistryBased in part on the article Aluminum: Organometallic Chemistry by Gregory H. Robinson which appeared in theEncyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry, First Edition.
Authors: Mason Mark R.
Published: December 2011

The synthesis, reactivity, structures, and applications of the organometallic compounds of aluminum are reviewed. The chapter starts with a discussion of traditional synthetic approaches to aluminum alkyls, aryls, hydrides, and halides and continues with a discussion of their structures and reactivity. The following section focuses on the emerging organometallic chemistry of Al(0), Al(I), and Al(II) and specifically highlights recent developments in aluminum–aluminum bonding, insertions of small molecules and elements into AlAl bonds, and the isolation of large metalloid clusters such as$\hbox{Al}_{50}\hbox{Cp}^{*}_{12}$. Organoaluminum heterocycles and cage compounds are the subjects of the next section. This section briefly describes common structural motifs and has separate subsections devoted to cage iminoalanes, alkylaluminoxanes, and alkylaluminophosphinates, ‐phosphates, ‐phosphonates, and ‐arsonates. Structural relationships amongst these groups of compounds and comparisons to secondary building units in aluminophosphate molecular sieves are presented. The importance of alkylaluminoxanes to catalytic activity is also discussed. This chapter includes an independent section on cationic organoaluminum complexes. Although this includes more traditional cationic complexes ligated by crown ether and neutral nitrogen‐donor ligands, the section emphasizes recent developments in generating two‐ and three‐coordinate cationic complexes. Alkide and hydride abstractions by trityl salts of weakly coordinating anions and tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane are described. Common anion decomposition pathways and successful cationic systems for oligomerizing and polymerizing alkenes are discussed. Two additional sections describe the applications of organoaluminum compounds to organic synthesis and applications in industry. Readers are referred to leading works that more adequately describe the extensive use of organoaluminum reagents in organic synthesis. Current and past applications of organoaluminum compounds for the production of long‐chain alkenes and alcohols, as cocatalysts for Ziegler–Natta and metallocene‐catalyzed polymerization of alkenes and dienes, and catalysts for propene dimerization and epoxide polymerization are summarized. Safety issues regarding the handling and disposal of pyrophoric organoaluminum reagents and waste are also discussed. One hundred and twenty‐six reviews and original works are cited.
Ammonia &N‐Donor Ligands
Authors: House Donald A.
Published: December 2011

The coordination chemistry of nonmacrocyclic ligands containing only N, C, and H atoms is surveyed. Such ligands include ammonia and linear polyamines as well as heterocyclic N‐compounds and catenated N‐systems. Among the topics discussed are N‐ligand synthesis, metal–N bond formation, reactions of coordinated N‐donor ligands, and the utilization of metal–N complexes. Structural and theoretical aspects include the consideration of metal–N stability constants, hard‐acid soft‐base concepts, inorganic reaction mechanisms, molecular mechanics, chelate ring stereochemistry, chirality, and supramolecular chemistry.
Antimony: Inorganic ChemistryBased in part on the article Antimony: Inorganic Chemistry by R. Bruce King which appeared in the
Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry, First Edition
.
Authors: Breunig Hans Joachim
Published: December 2011

An overview of the inorganic chemistry of the element antimony is given in this article, which includes information on the occurrence, production, use, and properties of the element and of compounds with bonds between antimony and main group elements (except carbon) and transition metals.
Asymmetric Synthesis by Homogeneous CatalysisBased in part on the article Asymmetric Synthesis by Homogeneous Catalysis by Brice Bosnich which appeared in the
Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry, First Edition
.
Authors: Walsh Patrick J.
Published: December 2011

This section describes new approaches to asymmetric catalysis including screening mixtures of chiral ligands, applications of normally unresolvable ligands, chiral poisoning, asymmetric activation of racemic catalysts, asymmetric activation of enantioenriched catalysts, optimization of enantioselective catalysts using achiral and
meso
ligands, and combinatorial methods for catalyst generation.
Borides: Solid‐State Chemistry
Authors: Lundström Torsten
Published: December 2011

Boron forms compounds with most other elements. In addition to numerous binary and ternary compounds with metals – the true borides – boron forms related compounds with carbon, silicon, nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic, oxygen, sulfur, and selenium. These related compounds are formed by elements more electronegative than boron and cannot therefore be denoted as borides. They display, however, similar properties and structures as borides, and are, therefore, included in the present article.

Borides are to some extent related to carbides and nitrides. All three groups of compounds are compounds between small nonmetal and larger metal atoms. They are occasionally denoted interstitial compounds, since the small nonmetal atoms often occupy the interstices between the metal atoms in metal‐rich compounds. In boron‐rich compounds, however, boron octahedra or icosahedra form a continuous three‐dimensional network. Most borides are characterized by high melting points, extreme hardness, brittleness, high chemical stability, and high inertness toward reactive metals.

The borides are nonmolecular compounds and knowledge of the crystal structure is consequently of very high importance to characterize a boride phase. The structural principles of mainly the binary and ternary borides are described in the article. There are a total number of at least 950 binary and ternary borides known at present.

The chemical bonding in borides has evident contributions from covalent, ionic as well as metallic bonding, which explains some of the unique properties of the borides. As a rule, phases containing a large proportion of boron are semiconductors, while those with a lower proportion of boron are metallic conductors. TiB2and MgB2are good metallic conductors while MeB6phases are either semiconductors or metallic conductors depending on the metal. Many theoretical calculations are available, in particular of diborides, including the recently discovered superconductor MgB2.

The uses of borides and related compounds are mainly based on the their hardness, chemical inertness, and magnetic and electrical properties. A few examples may be mentioned. B4C and cubic BN are used as abrasives, B4C and hexaborides as surface coatings, and CaB6as deoxidation agent in some metallurgical processes. TiB2is used in the production of vaporization boats for aluminum. It is also used in the industrial production process for aluminum owing to its high electrical conductivity and inertness toward liquid aluminum. Nd2Fe14B is the strongest permanent magnetic material known. Large single crystals of YB66are used for monochromating synchrotron radiation.
Boron HydridesBased in part on the article Boron Hydrides by James T. Spencer which appeared in the
Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry, First Edition
.
Authors: Hosmane Narayan S. , Maguire John A.
Published: December 2011

Boranes are hydrides of boron in which BH groups occupy the apices of electron‐deficient clusters. The term ‘electron deficient’ arises from the fact that boron has more valence orbitals than it does valence electrons. The consequence of this imbalance is that the clusters are stabilized by extensive multicentered bondings. The relationships between cage structures and the number of cage electrons are discussed for boranes and their extension to heteroboranes, where one or more BH units are replaced by isolobal main group or transition metal moieties. General synthetic methods and reactivities of the heteroboranes are also discussed.
Boron: Inorganic Chemistry
Authors: Schubert David M. , Brotherton Robert J.
Published: December 2011

Boron is unique among the elements and displays remarkable chemistry in all of its compounds. It is widely distributed at low concentrations on the Earth and is virtually always found bound to oxygen in its natural forms. Boron enters into the life cycle of and is an essential element for plants and animals. The vast majority of industrial uses of boron on a weight basis also involve boron–oxygen compounds, including important mineral sources, metal borates, boric acid, boric oxide, and boric acid esters. These find large‐scale applications in many industries, most notably in the manufacture of glass and other vitreous materials. Boric acid is a weak Lewis acid and does not display Brønsted acidity in aqueous solution. The condensation of B(OH)3and B(OH)4−species to form polyborates in relatively concentrated borate solutions has important implications for the solubilities and other solution properties of metal and nonmetal borate salts. Boric acid reacts with alcohols and other hydroxyl group‐bearing compounds to form esters, which find many industrial uses. Reversible borate ester crosslinking leads to polymer gel formation and provides the basis for the essential biological role of boron. Nonoxide boron compounds also have important industrial uses. These include refractory compounds, such as boron carbide, boron nitrides, boron phosphides, elemental boron, and metal–boron alloys, as well as nonrefractories, such as the boron halides. Nonrefractory boron–phosphorus and boron–sulfur compounds and the boron subhalides are yet to find significant industrial use, yet, nonetheless exhibit fascinating chemistries.