bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Determination of Pb, As, Cd and trace elements in polluted soils near a lead–zinc mine using polarized X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry and the characteristics of the elemental distribution in the area
Authors: Luo Liqiang , Chu Binbin , Li Yingchun , Xu Tao , Wang Xiaofang , Yuan Jing , Sun Jianlin , Liu Ying , Bo Ying , Zhan Xiuchun , Wang Shuxian , Tang Lijun
Published: April 2012

Polarization energy dispersive X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry was used in the determination of Pb, As and Cd, as well as Cr, Cu, Zn, Ni and other minor and trace elements in the soil samples taken from a polluted area by lead mine exploitation. Two difficulties have to be overcome. One is strong overlap of Pb Lα over As Kα and another is lack of suitable certified reference materials. The different excitation conditions and analytical lines were tried to reduce the impact of overlap of Pb Lα over As Kα. When KBr was used as the second target, compared with Zr, the proportion from Pb Lα was reduced about six times. Even so, however, the overlap was not reduced enough to be ignored. The inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry and mass spectrometry methods were used to analyze parts of soil samples and provide data for compensating lack of reference materials. By this method, the analytical concentration range of Pb, As and Cd were significantly extended. The analytical range of Pb, As and Cd were 1.4 µg/g~4.2%, 0.6 µg/g~9.3% and 0.5 µg/g~1500 µg/g, respectively. The high concentrations of Pb, As and Cd were found in the samples in the vicinity of the Pb‐Zn mine. The concentrations of Pb, As, Cd, Zn and Cu were higher than the Class III in the Chinese environmental quality standard for soils. The highest concentrations of Pb, As, Cd and Zn in the soil samples were 14 960, 2726, 65 and 9439 µg/g, respectively. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Participatory design of agricultural decision support tools: taking account of the use situations
Authors: Cerf Marianne , Jeuffroy Marie-Hélène , Prost Lorène , Meynard Jean-Marc
Published: April 2012

Although many agronomic researchers currently focus on designing and developing decision support systems, they rarely discuss the methodological implications of such work. In this paper, with the examples of two decision support systems, we propose methodological elements for conducting the participatory design of such tools. Our proposition aims at building dialogue between designers and users but also between humans, tools and work situations. We focus on two main stages: first, a diagnosis of the uses of decision tools within current working situations and, second, the use of a prototype of the tool under design. The first stage serves to characterize the diversity of uses and user situations in order to determine the tool’s flexibility and to identify new concepts for tools. The second stage involves setting up an arrangement whereby a prototype of the decision support tool, open to amendment, can be used in work-like situations and then discussed during debriefing sessions among designers and users. This stage mediates dialogue between all the participants and allows them to develop cross-learning processes. We discuss how these two stages allow for a coordinated expansion of three spaces: the concept space, the knowledge space and the use space. We then discuss the need for such participatory design processes described as dialogical design processes and their contribution to produce new agronomic knowledge supporting a more sustainable agriculture. Finally, we point out a need to provide more opportunity for scientific discussion on participatory design approaches and on design methodology more broadly within the agronomic community.
c-SECTIONS, SOLVABILITY AND LARGE SUBGROUPS OF FINITE GROUPS
Authors: BAUMEISTER BARBARA , KAPLAN GIL
Published: April 2012

c-Sections of maximal subgroups in a finite group and their relation to solvability have been extensively researched in recent years. A fundamental result due to Wang [‘C-normality of groups and its properties’, J. Algebra 180 (1998), 954–965] is that a finite group is solvable if and only if the c-sections of all its maximal subgroups are trivial. In this paper we prove that if for each maximal subgroup of a finite group G, the corresponding c-section order is smaller than the index of the maximal subgroup, then each composition factor of G is either cyclic or isomorphic to the O’Nan sporadic group (the converse does not hold). Furthermore, by a certain ‘refining’ of the latter theorem we obtain an equivalent condition for solvability. Finally, we provide an existence result for large subgroups in the sense of Lev [‘On large subgroups of finite groups’ J. Algebra 152 (1992), 434–438].
Hop (Humulus lupulus L.) extract inhibits obesity in mice fed a high-fat diet over the long term
Authors: Sumiyoshi Maho , Kimura Yoshiyuki
Published: April 2012

Hops (Humulus lupulus L.) are traditionally used to add bitterness and flavour to beer. Although the isomerised hop extracts produced by the brewing process have been thought to ameliorate lipid and glucose metabolism, the influence of untreated hop extracts on high-fat (HF) diet-induced obesity is unclear. The present study examined the anti-obesity effects of a hop extract in male C57BL/6J mice fed a HF diet, or HF diet plus 2 or 5 % hop extract for 20 weeks. The oral glucose tolerance test was performed at week 19. Furthermore, water excretion was evaluated in water-loaded Balb/c male mice. The effects of the extract on lipid accumulation and PPARγ expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes were examined. The hop extract inhibited the increase in body and adipose tissue weight, adipose cell diameter and liver lipids induced by the HF diet. Furthermore, it improved glucose intolerance. The extract enhanced water excretion in water-loaded mice. Various fractions of the hop extract inhibited lipid accumulation and PPARγ expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Hop extracts might be useful for preventing obesity and glucose intolerance caused by a HF diet.
Maturation of digestive function is retarded and plasma antioxidant capacity lowered in fully weaned low birth weight piglets
Authors: Michiels Joris , De Vos Maartje , Missotten Joris , Ovyn Anneke , De Smet Stefaan , Van Ginneken Christa
Published: April 2012

The digestive function of low birth weight (LBW) pigs post-weaning has been poorly studied. Therefore, newborns from eleven hyperprolific sows were weighed, weaned at 27·2 d and fed a starter diet until sampling. Sampling was done between 18 and 28 d post-weaning. An LBW piglet (n19) was defined as a piglet having a birth weight less than 1 kg and less than the lower quartile of litter birth weights. Normal birth weight (NBW) piglets (n13) were having a birth weight close to the mean litter birth weight. For each piglet, eighty-eight variables were determined. Data were analysed with linear models with type of piglet and litter as predictors. A principal component analysis was performed to determine the most important discriminating variables. In the LBW pig, the development of the digestive tract post-weaning was delayed: lower small-intestinal weight:length ratio due to a thinner tela submucosa and tunica muscularis and a higher secretory capacity, both in the distal jejunum. These observations might be a consequence of lower circulating insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) concentrations (126 (se10·0)v. 158 (se12·0) ng/ml for LBW and NBW, respectively) and a lower density of IGF-1 receptors in the proximal small intestine. Additionally, the plasma antioxidant capacity was lower for the LBW pig. Taken together, in the LBW piglet, the normal gut maturation post-weaning was retarded and this did not seem to be related to the weaning transition as such.
“What the Hell Is a Flowery Boundary Tree?” Gunslinger, All the Pretty Horses and the Postmodern Western
Authors: SAVAGE JORDAN
Published: April 2012

What is the function of a map, and what role does mapping perform in a literary text? This essay interrogates the use of maps and mapping, the influence and impact of capital and the construction of nationhood, and considers what it means to be an American in Cormac McCarthy's All The Pretty Horses and Edward Dorn's Gunslinger. The argument links the project pursued in these two westerns to larger geopolitical issues, whilst fully addressing the specificity and difference of the texts and their individual forms, structures and contents. Postmodern geographical theory is applied to the two books to provide a new theory of the way that land and territory are employed in the western.
Bone-anchored hearing aids and chronic pain: a long-term complication and a cause for elective implant removal
Authors: Siau D , Nik H , Hobson J C , Roper A J , Rothera M P , Green K M J
Published: April 2012

Objectives:

To report a case series of elective removal of bone-anchored hearing aid implants, and reasons for removal.

Design:

Retrospective review of a prospectively collected database.

Setting:

Two tertiary referral centres in the Manchester area: Manchester Royal Infirmary and Salford Royal University Hospital.

Participants:

A series of 499 adults and children who had undergone a total of 602 implant insertions (1984–2008).

Main outcome measures:

Implant removal rates, and reasons.

Results:

Twenty-seven of the 602 implants (4.5 per cent) required removal. Of these, 12 were due to pain (2.0 per cent), seven to persistent infection (1.2 per cent), three to failure of osseointegration (0.5 per cent), three to trauma (0.5 per cent) and two to other reasons (0.4 per cent).

Conclusion:

Chronic implant site pain represents the main reason why implants are removed electively, and affects 2 per cent of all implants. This complication has important medico-legal implications and should be discussed when obtaining informed consent for implantation.
William Harvie (‘Tommy’) Thomson, DSC (1922–2012)
Authors: Stonehouse Bernard
Published: April 2012

William Harvie (‘Tommy’) Thomson, DSC (1922–2012) was born in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, Scotland on 13 September 1922. Following distinguished service as a Fleet Air Arm pilot in World War II, he joined the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) in 1946, serving in 1947–1948 at Base E (Stonington Island) as pilot of the Survey's newly-acquired Auster aircraft.
Allegories of Passing in Bill T. Jones
Authors: Martin Randy
Published: April 2012

As we move we change. How could it be otherwise? The direction and consequence of change is far from assured. Dance inscribes movement in the world as a practical accomplishment. It legibly affirms, even if ephemerally, fleetingly, that some immediate difference has been made when the outcome of movement in life might still be in doubt. As a means for registering what movement can be, dance shows us how we pass from one state to another. It does this literally, as bodies configure their realms of space and time, and allegorically, as a touchstone to what it means to be passing through this world. Dance reports on the art of passing, telling us how to dwell amongst so many departures and arrivals. It also instructs us in passing as self-representation, convincing us in performance that it is dancers we see. Such a lovely tale, this. Yet in a nation of immigrants, all are compelled to move, but not all get to pass. Those who lived by the land were evicted in the name of property. Those who were designated property were affixed to the land in bondage. Others worked off their debts of passage. Still more were promised mobility from migration.
The Specter of Interdisciplinarity
Authors: Burt Ramsay
Published: April 2012

Theater dance is an interdisciplinary form, and some of the most interesting advances in progressive and experimental dance work in recent years have been interdisciplinary in nature. Where Anglo-American dance scholarship is concerned, however, a “theoretical turn” that has led some dance scholars to develop interdisciplinary methodologies has proved highly controversial. Interdisciplinarity is in danger of becoming a specter haunting dance scholarship.

Dance has not been alone in finding this transition difficult. As art historian and cultural theorist Mieke Bal has recently noted, one challenge facing the academy today is to find “a theoretical link between linguistic, visual and aural domains that blend so consistently in contemporary culture but remain so insistently separated as fields of study in the academy” (Bal 1999a, 10). Where dance is concerned, corporeality needs to be added to Bal's list of domains. This essay explores some of the reasons underlying resistance among Anglo-American dance scholars to the use of interdisciplinary methodologies. By doing so it aims to give an account of the public space in which recent examples of theater dance from Europe and the United States map out complex webs of relationships between corporeal, linguistic, visual, and aural levels of signification.
Teaching Kathak in France: The Interdisciplinary “Milieu”
Authors: Ranganathan Malini , Loquet Monique
Published: April 2012

This article approaches the idea of interdisciplinarity as an aspect of the globalization of pedagogical practices through the teaching of kathak dance in France. Our study positions itself in a didactic research program that tackles the question of interdisciplinarity under the theoretical angle of joint action between teacher and students (Ranganathan 2004; Ranganathan and Petrefalvi 2007; Sensevy and Mercier 2007; Loquet, Roncin, and Roesslé 2007; Loquet 2007). In this program, “didactics” is defined as the science whose object of study covers educational, teaching, and training practices. Our contribution to this program concerns the field of knowledge related to the body, in particular in sports and artistic activities (Loquet 2006). The ambition of research in didactics currently taking place in France is to show that the teacher's action cannot be treated in a unilateral way, independent of the student's action, just as the interactions between teacher and student cannot be set apart from the objects of knowledge that unite them. In this model, we grant a central place to the concept of “milieu,” seen in a general way as the space where the teacher and the students interact.
Trio A: Genealogy, Documentation, Notation
Authors: Rainer Yvonne
Published: April 2012

I worked on Trio A alone for six months in 1965. The dance initially consisted of a five-minute sequence of movement that would eventually be presented as The Mind Is a Muscle, Part I at Judson Church (on January 10, 1966). There it was performed by me, David Gordon, and Steve Paxton simultaneously but not in unison. An interim version of an extended, but not complete, The Mind Is a Muscle (Judson Church, May 22, 1966) was performed by William Davis, David Gordon, and Steve Paxton. In the final section of this version, called “Lecture,” Peter Saul executed a balletic solo version—that is, with pirouettes and jumps. In the final version (Anderson Theater, April 11, 1968) Trio A was performed by me in tap shoes (without balletic furbelows) at the end of the evening while Paxton, Gordon, and Davis performed it as a trio at the beginning.

The individual sequences last from four and a half to five minutes, depending on each performer's physical inclination. Two primary characteristics of the dance are its uninflected continuity and its imperative involving the gaze. The eyes are always averted from direct confrontation with the audience via independent movement of the head, closure of the eyes, or simple casting down of the gaze.
Intellectual Underpinnings
Authors: Satin Leslie
Published: April 2012

A few family snapshots:

1.

One day, my father and I stood, chatting, in a bank lobby. “I just don't get it,” he said. “You've got more brains in your head than you have in your feet.”

2.

My husband sings in an a cappella chorus, and for one Mother's Day concert we all wore necklaces emblazoned with words our mothers had never said. “Choreography and dance,” mine proclaimed. “What a wonderful career choice!”

3.

After watching me perform some years ago, one of my children offered the following critical précis: “Your bra was sticking out.”

I could go on with tales of familial, as well as fraternal and collegial, disinterest and disappointment, not to mention resentment and the occasional frisson linked to artist children and parents, associated with a career that seemingly joins the extremes of narcissism, the temporal and physical limitations mandated by the life cycle of the human body, and the apparent separation from the left-brain activities supported by other fields and disciplines.
Dancing the Animal to Open the Human: For a New Poetics of Locomotion
Authors: Brandstetter Gabriele
Published: April 2012

Animals have provided a theme and a model for movements in dance from time immemorial. But what image of man do danced animal portrayals reflect? What questions of human identity and crisis do they reveal? Do the bodies of animals provide symbolic material for the ethical, political, and aesthetic questions raised by man's mastery of nature?

The exploration of the boundary between man and animal—in myths and sagas, in the earliest records of ritual and art, and in the history of knowledge—is part of the great nature-versus-nurture debate. In the Bible the relationship is clear: Adam, made in the image of God, gives the animals in Paradise their names. In this way he rules over them—but Thomas Aquinas's commentary on this biblical text makes clear that the act of naming animals in Paradise is a step toward man's experiential self-discovery. Since then the hierarchy seems to be beyond doubt. Homo sapien, as the animal significans, is distinguished from other animals by his ability to speak, his upright gait, the use of his hands, and the capacity to use instruments and media—man as what Sigmund Freud called the “prosthetic god” (1966, 44).
Media-Bodies: Choreography as Intermedial Thinking Through in the Work of William Forsythe
Authors: Huschka Sabine
Published: April 2012

Since Ballet Frankfurt was reconstituted as the Forsythe Company in 2004, William Forsythe has increasingly explored formats of installation art practice. Works such as Human Writes (in collaboration with Kendall Thomas, 2005) and You made me a monster (2005) develop within an interactive and intermedial space and experiment with new ways to experience the production and perception of movement. “Performance installation” is the new term for this intertwined process of movement production and movement perception. The choreographic composition itself grows out of procedures of performative sensing by the dancers, which spreads to onlookers. This multiplex awareness of movement for which the dancer's body is the medium constitutes what I shall call the “media-body” as an essential moment of performance installation as choreographic event. Compared to earlier Forsythe installations—which he called “choreographic objects”—like White Bouncy Castle (1997), City of Abstracts (2000), or Scattered Crowd (2002), with their accessible spaces of movement (in White Bouncy Castle the spectator was a visitor moving about freely inside a white inflatable castle, and City of Abstracts featured choreographic projections of movement on large screens in open spaces) performance installations take place squarely in the theatrical context: in theater lobbies, exhibit halls, or accessible public performance spaces where dancers and the audience come together in a mutually shared yet operationally divided space that leads them into an interactive relationship.
Kinesthesia, Empathy, and Related Pleasures: An Inquiry into Audience Experiences of Watching Dance
Authors: Reason Matthew , Reynolds Dee
Published: April 2012

Dance is frequently described as being “about” movement. “Dance,” writes Ann Daly, “although it has a visual component, is fundamentally a kinesthetic art” (Daly 1992, 243). Audience experiences of dance can therefore be conceptualized in terms of responses to movement, most prominently in terms of what has been described as “kinesthetic empathy.” What does it mean, however, to watch, respond to, or appreciate movement? And how does the historical and theoretical concept of kinesthetic empathy relate to contemporary audiences' articulations of the experience of watching dance?

This article sets out to answer these questions by exploring different kinds of kinesthetic and empathetic responses and pleasures (and indeed displeasures) articulated by spectators of live dance across different styles and contexts. Pleasure is of particular importance to audience studies because it relates to motivations. Why do people seek out dance performances to watch? What are they looking for in the experience? In this context, we are interested in kinesthetic empathy as a mode of engaging with dance that can give pleasure to spectators and can be a strong motivating factor in why people choose to watch dance.
We Dance for Knowledge
Authors: Rowe Sharon Māhealani
Published: April 2012

Every year, for hundreds of thousands of tourists, seeing “real Hawaiian hula” in a hotel or in a packaged lū'au setting is standard fare. Commonplace too is receiving one's introduction to hula through any of the many competitions that take place annually in Hawai'i and, with increasing frequency, throughout the world. Still others find hula marketed for its exercise benefits, peddled as the latest fitness fad in gyms and malls across the country. But is hula the allure of exotic dancers evoking prurient responses from tourists, one moment tantalized by undulating hips only to be teasingly chastised the next to “keep your eyes on the hands”? Is it the crisp, impeccably synchronized movement danced before panels of judges at the several hula competitions that mark the year for many hula hālau? Is hula the movement, the meaning conveyed through the movement, or the full context out of which movement casts itself into an art form that inspires passion and perpetuates a traditional way of living?

For Mary Kawena Pukui, credited with helping to bring the rich traditional context of hula into the present, hula is “a general name for many types of Hawaiian folk dances” (1942/1980, 70). Pukui's laconic description says everything, and nothing. Everything because hula is the unique dance of the Hawaiian people. Everything because despite the homogenizing influence of hula competition, which has brought only a limited range of the vast hula repertoire to the public's attention over the past thirty-five years, hula encompasses many different styles and types of dances. But it says nothing because hula simply cannot be reduced to Hawaiian folk dance. Hula is a moving encyclopedia inscribed into the sinews and postures of dancers' bodies. It carries forward the social and natural history, the religious beliefs, the philosophy, the literature, and the scientific knowledge of the Hawaiian people.
Salsa Dance and the Transformation of Style: An Ethnographic Study of Movement and Meaning in a Cross-Cultural Context
Authors: Bosse Joanna
Published: April 2012

Over the last century perennial surges in the popularity of Latin American couple dance genres such as tango and rumba in the United States have served as lightning rods for debate on issues of morality, performance, and identity. These “crazes” have fueled the collective American imagination, reinforcing a type of Latin American exotica that prevailed throughout the twentieth century and into the next. Consequently, they have also fostered an entirely new style of performance as white Americans borrowed—or perhaps better stated, appropriated—these genres for their own. For instance, the two styles of tango performed by ballroom dancers today, some one hundred years after its introduction to American audiences in theaters and exhibition performances, is sufficiently distant from its Argentine roots to be considered an entirely different dance employing different movements, rhythms, and musical accompaniment.

This article explores this particular brand of cross-cultural borrowing through an ethnographic accounting of a salsa dance formation team in central Illinois. Salsa is the latest of the Latin dance crazes, and since the earl. 1990. the genre has experienced increased attention from mainstream American audiences who have invested significant resources in order to learn to dance salsa. Formation teams are presentational performance ensembles, in this case combining salsa; ballroom; and staged, theatrical dance, and generally draw their enthusiasts from ballroom dance circles.
Development of a quantification method for quartz in various bulk materials by X-ray diffraction and the Rietveld method
Authors: Martin Joannie , Beauparlant Martin , Lesage Jacques , Van Tra Huu
Published: April 2012

Crystalline silica is known for its health hazards, and since 1997 has been listed as Group 1, Carcinogenic to Humans, by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. This issue is particularly important in the industrial environment, and there is still no method that allows quantification of the different polymorphs of crystalline silica. Many analytical methods have been proposed, and the major problem in almost all cases is attributable to the very large variety of matrixes encountered. This study evaluates the potential of X-ray diffraction techniques and an automated Rietveld analysis in order to overcome this problem and to adapt the quantitative analysis of quartz, the most prevalent crystalline silica polymorph, to routine analysis in the health and safety environment. Matrix simulations are done and many parameters are optimized. Sample preparation, the acquisition program, pattern treatment, and Rietveld refinement are evaluated, and a general procedure is determined. Automation of Rietveld refinement leads to a significant reduction in analysis time, but cannot be applied to every type of sample.
A Holocene moss species preserved in lake sediment core and the present moss diversity at Schirmacher Oasis, Antarctica
Authors: Singh S.M. , Ochyra R. , Pednekar S.M. , Asthana R. , Ravindra R.
Published: April 2012

The sub-fossil mossPohlia nutansis recorded from lake sediment cores at Schirmacher Oasis, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. It was isolated from 160–162 cm depth of a sediment core. Radiocarbon (14C) dates by accelerator mass spectrometry confirmed its age to be 10.65 kyrbp. The preserved Holocene sub-fossil moss includes delicate leaves, axes and rhizoids and matches perfectly the extant specimens ofP. nutans.This is the first record of this sub-fossil from Dronning Maud Land, although the species is common as present-day flora in other parts of the Antarctic. The present status of the moss flora of Schirmacher Oasis is also discussed, including its diversity, ecology and biogeography.
A 1.2 V 15–32 GHz low-power single-balanced gate mixer with a miniature rat-race hybrid
Authors: Chen Chung-Chun , Lien Chun-Hsien , Tsao Hen-Wai , Wang Huei
Published: April 2012

A 15–32 GHz miniature single-balanced gate mixer is proposed and analyzed. It achieves a smaller chip area with acceptable conversion gain and port-to-port isolation. In addition, the design procedure is described in detail. This mixer, fabricated in 90 nm digital CMOS technology, demonstrates a measured conversion loss of 1 dB and higher than 30 dB RF-to-LO port isolation from 17 to 32 GHz, at a local oscillator (LO) driver power of −4.3 dBm. The total dc power consumption is only 6 mW from a 1.2 V supply, including output buffer. The low dc power consumption and LO driver power reduce the power budget, and the proposed miniature rat-race hybrid facilitates integration in a receiver.
Passive radar for airborne platform protection
Authors: Kulpa Krzysztof , Malanowski Mateusz , Samczyński Piotr , Misiurewicz Jacek , Dawidowicz Bartek
Published: April 2012

The paper presents the idea of the application of passive radar on board of an airplane. The aim of the passive coherent location (PCL) system is to provide surveillance information to the pilot (or autopilot), to detect the targets in the surveillance space, and to protect the platform from collisions and other threats. The PCL system can use the available emitters of opportunity, mainly digital terrestrial TV (DVB-T) transmitters. Other sources of illuminations, such as analogue (FM) or digital radio (DAB) can be used as well.
Design of wide-band dual–polarized aperture array antennas
Authors: Zhang Yongwei , Brown Anthony K.
Published: April 2012

This paper describes the design of high-performance compact aperture array antennas for radio astronomy and other applications. Three recent antenna developments for square kilometer array design study (SKADS) have been investigated and the performances are compared. In addition to the radio frequency (RF) performance, an essential requirement for the square kilometer array application is the cost per square area. Based on initial large–scale finite array studies, prototypes with different geometries have been fabricated and measured. Guidelines are derived for large–scale wide–band dual-polarized array designs in applications where low cross-polarization and a wide range of scan angles are required.
The seismic coupling of subduction zones revisited
Authors: Scholz Christopher H. , Campos Jaime
Published: April 2012

The nature of seismic coupling for many of the world's subduction zones has been reevaluated. Geodetic estimates of seismic coupling obtained from GPS measurements of upper plate deformation during the interseismic period are summarized. We compared those with new estimates of seismic coupling obtained from seismological data. The results show that with a few notable exceptions the two methods agree to within about 10%. The seismological estimates have been greatly improved over those made 20–30 years ago because of an abundance of paleoseismological data that greatly extend the temporal record of great subduction earthquakes and by the occurrence, in the intervening years, of an unusual number of great and giant earthquakes that have filled in some of the most critical holes in the seismic record. The data also, again with a few notable exceptions, support the frictional instability theory of seismic coupling, and in particular, the test of that theory made by Scholz and Campos (1995). Overall, the results support their prediction that high coupling occurs for subduction zones subjected to high normal forces with a switch to low coupling occurring fairly abruptly as the normal force decreases below a critical value. There is also considerable variation of coupling within individual subduction zones. Earthquake asperities correlate with areas of high coupling and hence have a semblance of permanence, but the rupture zones and asperity distributions of great earthquakes may differ greatly between seismic cycles because of differences in the phase of seismic flux accumulation.
Integration of remote‐sensing data with WRF to improve lake‐effect precipitation simulations over the Great Lakes region
Authors: Zhao Lin , Jin Jiming , Wang Shih‐Yu , Ek Michael B.
Published: April 2012

In this study, remotely sensed lake surface temperature (LST) and lake ice cover (LIC) were integrated into the Advanced Research Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model version 3.2 to evaluate the simulation of lake‐effect precipitation over the Great Lakes region. The LST was derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), while the LIC was obtained from the National Ice Center (NIC). WRF simulations for the Great Lakes region were performed at 10 km grid spacing for the cold season from November 2003 through February 2008. Initial and lateral boundary conditions were provided by the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR). Experiments were carried out to compare winter precipitation simulations with and without the integration of the satellite data. Results show that integration with MODIS LST and NIC LIC significantly improves simulation of lake‐effect precipitation over the Great Lakes region by reduced latent heat and sensible heat fluxes. A composite analysis of lake‐effect precipitation events further reveals that more accurately depicted low‐level stability and vertical moisture transport forced by the observation‐based LST and LIC contribute to the improved simulation of lake‐effect precipitation.
Assessment of gravity wave momentum flux measurement capabilities by meteor radars having different transmitter power and antenna configurations
Authors: Fritts D. C. , Janches D. , Hocking W. K. , Mitchell N. J. , Taylor M. J.
Published: April 2012

Measurement capabilities of five meteor radars are assessed and compared to determine how well radars having different transmitted power and antenna configurations perform in defining mean winds, tidal amplitudes, and gravity wave (GW) momentum fluxes. The five radars include two new‐generation meteor radars on Tierra del Fuego, Argentina (53.8°S) and on King George Island in the Antarctic (62.1°S) and conventional meteor radars at Socorro, New Mexico (34.1°N, 106.9°W), Bear Lake Observatory, Utah (∼41.9°N, 111.4°W), and Yellowknife, Canada (62.5°N, 114.3°W). Our assessment employs observed meteor distributions for June of 2009, 2010, or 2011 for each radar and a set of seven test motion fields including various superpositions of mean winds, constant diurnal tides, constant and variable semidiurnal tides, and superposed GWs having various amplitudes, scales, periods, directions of propagation, momentum fluxes, and intermittencies. Radars having higher power and/or antenna patterns yielding higher meteor counts at small zenith angles perform well in defining monthly and daily mean winds, tidal amplitudes, and GW momentum fluxes, though with expected larger uncertainties in the daily estimates. Conventional radars having lower power and a single transmitting antenna are able to describe monthly mean winds and tidal amplitudes reasonably well, especially at altitudes having the highest meteor counts. They also provide reasonable estimates of GW momentum fluxes at the altitudes having the highest meteor counts; however, these estimates are subject to uncertainties of ∼20 to 50% and uncertainties rapidly become excessive at higher and lower altitudes. Estimates of all quantities degrade somewhat for more complex motion fields.
Emission and transport of cesium‐137 from boreal biomass burning in the summer of 2010
Authors: Strode Sarah A. , Ott Lesley E. , Pawson Steven , Bowyer Theodore W.
Published: April 2012

While atmospheric concentrations of cesium‐137 (137Cs) have decreased since the nuclear testing era, resuspension of 137Cs during biomass burning provides an ongoing emission source. The summer of 2010 was an intense biomass burning season in western Russia, with high levels of particulate matter impacting air quality and visibility. A radionuclide monitoring station in western Russia shows enhanced airborne 137Cs concentrations during the wildfire period. Since 137Cs binds to aerosols, satellite observations of aerosols and fire occurrences can provide a global‐scale context for 137Cs emissions and transport during biomass burning events. We demonstrate that high values of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aerosol optical depth coincide with detections of 137Cs, and use the relationship between 137Cs and aerosols to model 137Cs based on organic carbon emissions and transport with the Goddard Earth Observing System, version 5 model. The model's boreal biomass burning tracer explains approximately half of the daily variability in detected 137Cs concentrations at a monitoring station in western Russia. Constraining the model with the station observations, we calculate 137Cs emissions of 1.5 × 1012 Bq from biomass burning north of 40° in July and August 2010. The emissions and subsequent deposition lead to a small northward redistribution of 137Cs.
Amplification of whistler‐mode hiss inside the plasmasphere
Authors: Chen Lunjin , Li Wen , Bortnik Jacob , Thorne Richard M.
Published: April 2012

Chorus generated outside the plasmasphere has been suggested to be the source of plasmaspheric hiss. A detailed evaluation of the propagation and Landau damping of chorus waves can account for most of the properties of dayside hiss, but the intensity is underestimated by 10–20 dB compared to the observed hiss intensity. We show that this important discrepancy is due to the neglect of cyclotron resonant growth inside the plasmasphere. Careful modeling of the access of chorus to form an embryonic source outside the plasmapause, together with internal amplification inside the plasmasphere can account for the spectral intensity of dayside plasmaspheric hiss.
Observations of kinetic ballooning/interchange instability signatures in the magnetotail
Authors: Panov E. V. , Sergeev V. A. , Pritchett P. L. , Coroniti F. V. , Nakamura R. , Baumjohann W. , Angelopoulos V. , Auster H. U. , McFadden J. P.
Published: April 2012

Stimulated by a recent study of a kinetic ballooning/interchange instability by Pritchett and Coroniti (2010), we present THEMIS events that confirm the predictions of this mechanism. In these events the probes were situated in the plasma sheet at 11 Re, near the presumed location of a B minimum. Prior to substorm onset, they observed strong magnetic oscillations with periods 20–100 s and δBX about 10–20 nT. Associated with these were oscillations of the electric field δEY ∼ 1 mV/m and the field‐aligned electron velocity of several hundreds of km/s. No comparable perturbations in the ion velocity were observed. For two cases cross‐correlation analyses proved duskward propagation of the elongated spatial structures with a cross‐tail width of a few ion gyroradii and a propagation velocity of about the ion drift velocity. In one case THEMIS probes confirmed a sausage‐like geometry of the structures.
Global distribution of EMIC waves derived from THEMIS observations
Authors: Min Kyungguk , Lee Jeongwoo , Keika Kunihiro , Li Wen
Published: April 2012

Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves play an important role in magnetospheric dynamics and their global distribution has been of great interest. This paper presents the distribution of EMIC waves over a broader range than ever before, as enabled by observations with the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) spacecraft from 2007 to 2010. Our major findings are: (1) There are two major peaks in the EMIC wave occurrence probability. One is at dusk and 8–12 RE where the helium band dominates the hydrogen band waves. The other is at dawn and 10–12 RE where the hydrogen band dominates the helium band waves. (2) In terms of wave spectral power the dusk events are stronger (≈10 nT2/Hz) than the dawn events (≈3 nT2/Hz). (3) The dawn waves have large normal angles (>45°) in the hydrogen band and even larger normal angles (>60°) in the helium band. The dusk waves have small normal angles (≤30°) in both the hydrogen and helium bands. (4) The hydrogen band waves at dawn are weakly left‐hand polarized near the equator, become linearly polarized with increasing latitude and eventually weakly right‐hand polarized at high latitudes whereas the helium band waves at dawn are linearly polarized at all latitudes. Dusk waves in both bands are strongly left‐hand polarized over a wide range of latitude. Based on the linear EMIC instability model presented by Horne and Thorne (1994), we suggest that the main underlying factor for the observed spatial variations of these wave properties would be local density of cold plasma and chemical abundance. In addition, the distinct properties of H and He band waves found in this study would deserve a new attention in relation to EMIC wave generation mechanisms.
Co-expression Toggling of MicroRNAs in Alzheimer’s Brain
Authors: Bhattacharyya Malay
Published: April 2012

We present the findings on how microRNA expression profiles changes in Alzheimer's brain.
Integration of Co-expression Networks for Gene Clustering
Authors: Bhattacharyya Malay , Bandyopadhyay Sanghamitra
Published: April 2012

Simultaneous overexpression or underexpression of multiple genes, used in various forms as probes in the high-throughput microarray experiments, facilitates the identification of their underlying functional proximity. This kind of functional associativity (or conversely the separability) between the genes can be represented proficiently using co-expression networks. The extensive repository of diversified microarray data encounters a recent problem of multi-experimental data integration for the aforesaid purpose. This paper highlights a novel integration method of gene co-expression networks, based on the search for their consensus network, derived from diverse microarray experimental data for the purpose of clustering. The proposed methodology avoids the bias arising from missing value estimation. The method has been applied on microarray datasets arising from different category of experiments to integrate them. The consensus network, thus produced, reflects robustness based on biological validation.
Cluster Analysis of the National Weight Control Registry to Identify Distinct Subgroups Maintaining Successful Weight Loss
Authors: Ogden Lorraine G. , Stroebele Nanette , Wyatt Holly R. , Catenacci Victoria A. , Peters John C. , Stuht Jennifer , Wing Rena R. , Hill James O.
Published: April 2012

The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) is the largest ongoing study of individuals successful at maintaining weight loss; the registry enrolls individuals maintaining a weight loss of at least 13.6 kg (30 lb) for a minimum of 1 year. The current report uses multivariate latent class cluster analysis to identify unique clusters of individuals within the NWCR that have distinct experiences, strategies, and attitudes with respect to weight loss and weight loss maintenance. The cluster analysis considers weight and health history, weight control behaviors and strategies, effort and satisfaction with maintaining weight, and psychological and demographic characteristics. The analysis includes 2,228 participants enrolled between 1998 and 2002. Cluster 1 (50.5%) represents a weight‐stable, healthy, exercise conscious group who are very satisfied with their current weight. Cluster 2 (26.9%) has continuously struggled with weight since childhood; they rely on the greatest number of resources and strategies to lose and maintain weight, and report higher levels of stress and depression. Cluster 3 (12.7%) represents a group successful at weight reduction on the first attempt; they were least likely to be overweight as children, are maintaining the longest duration of weight loss, and report the least difficulty maintaining weight. Cluster 4 (9.9%) represents a group less likely to use exercise to control weight; they tend to be older, eat fewer meals, and report more health problems. Further exploration of the unique characteristics of these clusters could be useful for tailoring future weight loss and weight maintenance programs to the specific characteristics of an individual.
Note: Anharmonicity of quasi-lattice modes in glass and super-fragile liquid states of decahydroisoqinoline: C9H17N
Authors: Plazanet Marie , Schober Helmut , Angell C. Austen
Published: April 2012

One of the most fragile of all molecular liquids, perhydronapthalene (decalin), was recently shown to have quite abnormal low frequency (quasi-lattice) vibrational modes, implying extreme anharmonicity. A molecular liquid of similar structure and fragility, but chemically suited to structural modification, has been found to lose its fragility on accepting a proton from simple mineral acids (forming a protic ionic liquid). Here we show, again by low energy neutron scattering studies, that this derivatizable liquid, decahydroisoquinoline, has the same highly anharmonic quasi-lattice characteristics as decalin (thus inviting a future comparison with the quasi-lattice character of the non-fragile derivatives).
Absolute photoionization cross-section of the propargyl radical
Authors: Savee John D. , Soorkia Satchin , Welz Oliver , Selby Talitha M. , Taatjes Craig A. , Osborn David L.
Published: April 2012

Using synchrotron-generated vacuum-ultraviolet radiation and multiplexed time-resolved photoionization mass spectrometry we have measured the absolute photoionization cross-section for the propargyl (C3H3) radical, $\sigma _{{\rm propargyl}}^{{\rm ion}} (E)$σ propargyl ion (E), relative to the known absolute cross-section of the methyl (CH3) radical. We generated a stoichiometric 1:1 ratio of C3H3 : CH3 from 193 nm photolysis of two different C4H6 isomers (1-butyne and 1,3-butadiene). Photolysis of 1-butyne yielded values of $\sigma _{{\rm propargyl}}^{{\rm ion}} ({\rm 10}{\rm.213\; eV}) = (26.1 \pm 4.2)$σ propargyl ion (10.213 eV )=(26.1±4.2) Mb and $\sigma _{{\rm propargyl}}^{{\rm ion}} ({\rm 10}{\rm.413\; eV}) = (23.4 \pm 3.2)$σ propargyl ion (10.413 eV )=(23.4±3.2) Mb, whereas photolysis of 1,3-butadiene yielded values of $\sigma _{{\rm propargyl}}^{{\rm ion}} ({\rm 10}{\rm.213\; eV}) = (23.6 \pm 3.6)$σ propargyl ion (10.213 eV )=(23.6±3.6) Mb and $\sigma _{{\rm propargyl}}^{{\rm ion}} ({\rm 10}{\rm.413\; eV}) = (25.1 \pm 3.5)$σ propargyl ion (10.413 eV )=(25.1±3.5) Mb. These measurements place our relative photoionization cross-section spectrum for propargyl on an absolute scale between 8.6 and 10.5 eV. The cross-section derived from our results is approximately a factor of three larger than previous determinations.
Demonstration of a real-time interferometer as a bunch-length monitor in a high-current electron beam accelerator
Authors: Thangaraj J. , Andonian G. , Thurman-Keup R. , Ruan J. , Johnson A. S. , Lumpkin A. , Santucci J. , Maxwell T. , Murokh A. , Ruelas M. , Ovodenko A.
Published: April 2012

A real-time interferometer (RTI) has been developed to monitor the bunch length of an electron beam in an accelerator. The RTI employs spatial autocorrelation, reflective optics, and a fast response pyro-detector array to obtain a real-time autocorrelation trace of the coherent radiation from an electron beam thus providing the possibility of online bunch-length diagnostics. A complete RTI system has been commissioned at the A0 photoinjector facility to measure sub-mm bunches at 13 MeV. Bunch length variation (FWHM) between 0.8 ps (∼0.24 mm) and 1.5 ps (∼0.45 mm) has been measured and compared with a Martin-Puplett interferometer and a streak camera. The comparisons show that RTI is a viable, complementary bunch length diagnostic for sub-mm electron bunches.
Covalent attachment of a specific site of a protein molecule on a carbon nanotube tip
Authors: Maruyama Hiroyuki , Yoshimura Shige H. , Ohno Satoshi , Nishikawa Kazuya , Nakayama Yoshikazu
Published: April 2012

We have demonstrated the attachment of a specific site of importin α protein molecules to carbon nanotube (CNT) tips. A specific site of importin α was labeled with an artificial amino acid: azidotyrosine. Using the Staudinger reaction, the specific reaction between azide groups and a triarylphosphine derivative mounted on a CNT tip, the part of the azidotyrosine in protein was trapped at the CNT tip. The rate of attachment to CNT tips in the case of the azidotyrosine-inserted importin α was higher than that of the wild type, which suggests that importin α molecules were trapped site-specifically at CNT tips.
Quantum levitation of a thin magnetodielectric plate on a metallic plate using the repulsive Casimir force
Authors: Inui Norio
Published: April 2012

Levitation of a thin magnetodielectric plate on a metallic plate by using the repulsive Casimir force is theoretically considered. If the permittivity of the metallic plate near zero frequency is expressed by a plasma model and the static permeability of the magnetodielectric plate is higher than its static permittivity, the Casimir force between the magnetodielectric plate and the metallic plate changes from attractive to repulsive as the separation between them increases. Furthermore, as the thickness of the magnetodielectric plate is decreased, the attractive component of the Casimir force decreases more than the repulsive one. This effect generates a larger repulsive Casimir force as compared with that between the plates having infinite thickness. Combined with the effect of decreasing the weight of the plate, this might enable a thin plate to levitate in vacuum. The height of quantum levitation is evaluated for a combination of yttrium iron garnet and gold.