bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
WAS ANDREW CARNEGIE GENEROUS?
Authors: Putman Daniel
Published: September 2010

Millions of Americans, as well as millions in Europe, have used or will use a library established by Andrew Carnegie. In his lifetime Carnegie gave the equivalent of several billion dollars in today's money to establish 1,689 public libraries in the United States, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Moreover, 660 libraries in Britain and Ireland, 125 in Canada, 17 in New Zealand, 12 in South Africa and scattered others around the world exist because of this man.1 And this does not include the extensive positive influence of the foundations and grants established by Carnegie. Aristotle would likely have called him ‘magnificent’. Carnegie had the virtue beyond mere generosity available only to those with the means and position to benefit the polis on a grand scale. Unlike generosity, magnificence involves what Irwin has called ‘the judgment and tact that are needed for large benefactions.2 Whether ‘magnificent’ or ‘generous’ is a better term for Carnegie's character is not my major concern. Carnegie's recent biographer simply uses ‘generous’. So, for the remainder of this paper, I will use ‘generous’.3 But was Carnegie, in fact, generous? This paper will explore both the definition of the virtue and its application to Andrew Carnegie.
EXISTENTIALISM – A PRACTICAL APPROACH FOR A MODERN WORLD?
Authors: Kalderimis Daniel
Published: September 2010

Have you ever picked up a self-help book from a bookstore and, although perhaps agreeing with its advice to take responsibility for your life and to treat other people kindly, wondered a little as to where the author's moral certaint as to how to approach the world comes from?
A REFUTATION OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
Authors: Shand John
Published: September 2010

The following argument presents a refutation of the existence of God under a certain description, which, it will be maintained, is the only description that most traditional monotheists could accept. Therefore, either God, as defined by traditional monotheism, does not exist or something that might be called ‘God’ exists, but would not be acceptable to monotheism as truly being God. Either way, God does not exist.1
WHO'S AFRAID OF FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE? EFFECTIVE AND INEFFECTIVE CRITICISMS
Authors: Phelan Jon
Published: September 2010

When one finds a philosopher inspiring, it is all too easy to adopt an uncritical reading. This would be to treat the author as an exception. The hallmark of such arguments from reverence is that they often start with ‘As so-and-so said…’ and appear as the final statement on the matter. Friedrich Nietzsche is subject to such reverential treatment at the hand of undergraduate and A-Level devotees. I hope in the course of this brief survey to suggest some worthwhile criticisms of Nietzsche while at the same time point to criticisms that are ineffective. First, popular criticisms that I deem unsuccessful.
Impact on caregiver burden of a patient-focused palliative care intervention for patients with advanced cancer
Authors: O'Hara Ross E. , Hull Jay G. , Lyons Kathleen D. , Bakitas Marie , Hegel Mark T. , Li Zhongze , Ahles Tim A.
Published: September 2010

Objective:

Caregivers of patients with advanced cancer experience physical and emotional strain that can raise their own risk for morbidity and mortality. This analysis was performed to determine whether ENABLE II, a patient-focused palliative care intervention that increased patients' quality of life, reduced symptom intensity, and lowered depressed mood compared to usual care, would affect caregiver burden.

Method:

Caregivers of patients with advanced cancer from the parent study completed a caregiver burden scale and patients completed quality of life, symptom intensity, and depressed mood measures. Data were collected at baseline, 1 month, and every 3 months thereafter until patient death or the study ended. Decedents' caregivers were asked to complete an after-death interview regarding the quality of care that the patient received.

Results:

There were no significant differences in caregiver burden between intervention and usual care conditions. Follow-up analyses showed that higher caregiver objective burden and stress burden were related to lower patient quality of life, higher symptom intensity, and higher depressed mood. Caregivers who perceived that patients had unmet needs at end of life reported higher objective burden, and those who perceived that patients were not treated with respect reported higher demand burden.

Significance of results:

The results indicate that a successful patient-focused intervention did not have a similar beneficial effect on caregiver burden. Future interventions should focus on caregivers as well as patients, with particular attention to caregivers' perceptions of patient care, and seek to change both negative and positive effects of informal caregiving.
Transforming the mortality review conference to assess palliative care in the acute care setting: A feasibility study
Authors: Pekmezaris Renee , Cooper Lynda , Efferen Linda , Mastrangelo Amy , Silver Alan , Eichorn Ann , Walia Rajni , Mir Tanveer , Liberman Tara , Weiner Joseph , Steinberg Harry
Published: September 2010

Objective:

This project sought to evaluate the impact of a hospital-based Palliative Care Consultation (PCC) service utilizing a common practice: the resident mortality review conference.

Method:

Internal Medicine residents used a revised chart audit tool during the mortality review conference, which included domains described in the Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care (2004). This study attempted to transform the common practice into a methodology for collecting data that could be used as a platform to assess the quality of hospital care near the end of life. In this review, the residents were asked not only “what care was delivered appropriately?” but “what could we have done?” to relieve the patient's and family's suffering.

Results:

The results showed that the mortality review process could be used to assess care at the end of life. It also showed that those patients who received a PCC received better care. Symptoms were addressed at a significantly higher rate for those patients who received a PCC than for those who did not. Specifically, these were symptoms of pain (75% vs. 51%, p <.0001), dyspnea (75% vs. 59%, p < 0.0001), nausea (28% vs. 18%, p < 0.0001), and agitation (53% vs. 33%, p < 0.0001).

Significance of results:

The mortality review process was found to be valuable in assessing care delivery for patients near the end of life. The tool yielded results that were consistent with findings of other studies looking at pain and symptom management, advance care planning, and the rate of palliative care consults across major diagnostic categories, supporting the face validity of the mortality review process.
Comparison of experienced burnout symptoms in specialist oncology nurses working in hospital oncology units or in hospices
Authors: Ostacoli Luca , Cavallo Marco , Zuffranieri Marco , Negro Manuela , Sguazzotti Erica , Picci Rocco Luigi , Tempia Patrizia , La Ciura Pietro , Furlan Pier Maria
Published: September 2010

Objective:

This study aimed to clarify the differential contributions of situational and individual factors to burnout symptoms experienced by two independent groups of specialist oncology nurses working in oncology hospital units or in hospices.

Method:

The study involved a group of specialist oncology nurses working in hospital oncology units (n = 59) and a group of specialist oncology nurses working in hospices (n = 33). Participants were invited to provide demographic data, and indicate the clinical setting in which they worked and their work experience; the Italian versions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) (a measure of burnout symptoms), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) (a measure of anxiety and depression), and the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ) (a measure of relational style) were then administered.

Results:

The two groups of nurses were well matched for age, work experience, and levels of anxiety and depression. Regarding their relational style, the two groups only differed significantly on two subscales of the ASQ (i.e. “Confidence” and “Relationships as Secondary”). The two groups significantly differed in the levels of all burnout symptoms investigated (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal achievement), with nurses working in hospital units showing higher levels of burnout symptoms. Interestingly, multivariate regression analyses showed that the institutional factor (clinical setting in which nurses worked) clearly emerged as the only factor that influenced the level of all burnout symptoms, whereas the contribution of individual factors was less significant.

Significance of results:

These findings help to clarify the differential contributions of institutional and individual factors to burnout symptoms in specialist oncology nurses, and corroborate the need for interventions to contain nurses' burnout symptoms.
What does care mean? Perceptions of people approaching the end of life
Authors: Janssen Anna L. , MacLeod Roderick D.
Published: September 2010

Objective:

This project sought to better understand the nature of medical care from the perspective of people approaching the end of life.

Method:

We asked 13 people who were dying (and a family member for each) to describe their care and the ways in which doctors' behavior fosters or inhibits the feeling that they were cared for as individuals. Interviews took a phenomenological approach. Data analysis was thematic.

Results:

Examples used by participants as evidence of care varied widely and showed the potentially complex nature of quality care. Participants' descriptions reflect the many ways people can impart and experience care as unique individuals in the medical context. They also provide clear examples of what uncaring behaviour looks and feels like.

Significance of results:

The importance of care was clearly illustrated through descriptions of the benefits of caring behavior and the negative consequences of uncaring behavior. In order to demonstrate the empathy and compassion expected and assumed of medical graduates and engender a feeling of being cared for among their patients, doctors need to invite and develop a relationship with those they are caring for. There needs to be a focus on each member of the caring relationship primarily as individual human beings.
Looming cognitive style and quality of life in a cancer cohort
Authors: Levin Tomer T. , Riskind John , Li Yuelin
Published: September 2010

Objective:

Looming cognitive styles (LCS) bias the velocity of potential threats and have been implicated in anxiety and depression vulnerability. This study aims to explore their contribution to impaired quality of life (QOL), beyond that of depression and anxiety, in a cancer cohort.

Method:

In a cross-sectional design, an ambulatory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cohort completed a psychological battery that included the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories, the SF-36 Health Survey, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACT), the Looming Cognitive Style Questionnaire (LCSQ), and the Looming Cancer measure.

Results:

The Looming Cancer measure correlated significtly with overall QOL (FACT-G, p = 0.005). This effect was largely due to the contribution of emotional QOL (Mental Component Score: SF-36, p = 0.001; FACT-emotional, p = 0.001) and functional QOL (FACT-functional, p = 0.001). Looming, unlike anxiety and depression, did not correlate with a worse physical QOL (Physical Component Score: SF-36, FACT-physical). Looming did not impact on social QOL. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that looming predicted 5.4% of the varience on the FACT-emotional, 5.1% on the Mental Component Score (SF-36), and 9.3% on the mental health subscale (SF-36), above and beyond the varience predicted by a constellation of psychosocial factors (including age, marital status, education, income) and the combined effect of depression and anxiety

Significance of results:

LCS predicts worse emotional and functional QOL, above and beyond the contribution of anxiety, depression, and other psycho-social variables. This suggests that it makes a unique contribution to a worse QOL. Nevertheless, the looming construct still remains primarily a research tool in psycho-oncology at this time.
Does chemotherapy reduce stress?
Authors: Gil Francisco , Costa G. , Pérez F.J.
Published: September 2010

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to assess the psychological care needs of cancer patients throughout the healthcare process: after diagnosis, after medical treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy) and during follow-up.

Method:

A total of 703 ambulatory cancer patients were assessed in this study. The inclusion period was from April 1, 2005 to April 30, 2007. The first psychological scales used were the 14-item Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales (HADS), which has two sub-scales for anxiety (7 items) and for depression (7 items). All patients with a score ≥14 were assessed through the Structured Clinical Interview for Psychiatric Disorder (SCID-I) of the DSM-IV. All data were compared with sociodemographic and medical characteristics.

Results:

Of the 703 cancer patients in the study, 349 were men and 354 women, with a mean age of 53 years. The median time between the cancer diagnosis and our clinical interview was 6 months (range, 12 days to 190 months). Overall, the screening tools indicated that one in four patients needed psychological care. The most common psychiatric diagnosis was adjustment disorder (129 cases), whereas 10 patients were diagnosed with major depression. Using a HADS cut-off score of >7 for anxiety and depression, 28% and 17% of patients, respectively, were classified as “possible clinical cases.” Risk factors for distress included age <65 years, asthenia, constipation, and a low performance status. However, chemotherapy treatment was found to be a protector against distress in cancer patients.

Significance of Results:

Chemotherapy treatment is interpreted by the patients as a protector against cancer, thereby reducing distress levels.
Journey of struggle: Kalothanasia and the hospice way of dying
Authors: Floriani Ciroaugusto , Schramm Fermin Roland
Published: September 2010

The purpose of this article is to characterize the notion of a “good death” both historically and conceptually, grounding the philosophy of the modern hospice movement. This concept encompasses elements originating in ancient societies, such as peasant societies, where death was prepared for and shared socially, with ethical and aesthetic elements originating from Ancient Greece. These Greek elements emerged from a “journey of struggle” and can be recognized in the current day as a journey to cope with illness. From this conceptualization emerged a category of “good death” (kalothanasia), adding to the expertise of advocates of the modern hospice movement, who seek to revive a process of dying that is socially ritualized. However, this is challenging in the setting of a medical practice that is constantly incorporating new technology, in accordance with its present bio-techno-scientific paradigm, and in a medical scenario that identifies itself with the continued and persistent use of new technologies.
Diagnosis and treatment of akathisia in a cancer patient who cannot stand up or sit down, because of poor performance status: Factors that make the diagnosis of akathisia difficult, and diagnosis clues
Authors: Onishi Hideki , Wada Makoto , Wada Tomomi , Wada Mei , Ishida Mayumi , Kawanishi Chiaki , Mizuno Keiko , Ito Hiroshi , Narabayashi Masaru , Sasaki Yasutsuna
Published: September 2010

Objective:

Akathisia is a common adverse effect of antipsychotics and, less commonly, antidepressants. Akathisia can cause great discomfort and is often described by the patient as a most distressing sensation; however, the condition is often underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed. In oncological settings, neuroleptics and antidepressants that induce akathisia are also administered. However, reports of akathisia in oncology settings are few and a case of akathisia in a bedridden patient has not been reported as far as we know.

Case report:

A 72-year-old man with esophageal cancer who could not sit down or stand up was administered 5 mg/day haloperidol to relieve agitation as a symptom of major depressive disorder. Three days after the administration of haloperidol, the agitation had become worse. Careful observation revealed that the patient sometimes showed slight rubbing movement of the lower extremities and slight twisting movements of the body, which were not observed before the administration of haloperidol. The patient moved his body and lower extremities to relieve restlessness, which had developed after the administration of haloperidol. Although symptoms were atypical, akathisia was suspected and discontinuation of haloperidol resolved the symptoms.

Results and significance of results:

In patients with poor performance status, clues leading to the correct diagnosis of akathisia might be absent, which would not be the case in patients who were able to walk, stand up, or sit down. Careful observations of patients before and after the administration of drugs that may cause akathisia may be required to ensure correct diagnosis.
Report on the English Profile network seminar series 2010
Authors: Trim John L. M.
Published: September 2010

The English Profile workshop and seminar sessions held in Cambridge in February 2010 aimed to update English Profile network members on the accomplishments of the programme to date and to look forward to a strong year of progress ahead. The author addressed the opening and closing sessions and provides an overview of the meeting.
The English Profile Programme – the first three years
Authors: Saville Nick , Hawkey Roger
Published: September 2010

The English Profile Programme is a major inter-disciplinary, research-based collaborative project to develop detailed reference level descriptions (RLDs) of the English of L2 language learners, linked to the general principles and approaches of the Council of Europe. The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) provides language proficiency bands against which the profile is categorised. Large samples of writing and speech are required for the Programme, with the Cambridge Learner Corpus providing data for the initial phase.
Short‐term statistics of waves observed in deep water
Authors: Casas‐Prat Mercè , Holthuijsen Leo H.
Published: September 2010

The short‐term statistics of 10 million individual waves observed with buoys in deep water have been investigated, corrected for a sample‐rate bias, and normalized with the standard deviation of the surface elevation (the range of normalized wave heights is 0 < < 10). The observed normalized trough depths are found to be Rayleigh distributed with near‐perfect scaling. The normalized crest heights are also Rayleigh distributed but 3% higher than given by the conventional Rayleigh distribution. The observed normalized wave heights are not well predicted by the conventional Rayleigh distribution (overprediction by 9.5% on average), but they are very well predicted by Rayleigh‐like distributions obtained from linear theories and by an empirical Weibull distribution (errors <1.5%). These linear theories also properly predict the observed monotonic variation of the normalized wave heights with the (de‐)correlation between crest height and trough depth. The theoretical Rayleigh‐like distributions may therefore be preferred over the empirical Weibull distribution and certainly over the conventional Rayleigh distribution. The values of the observed expected maximum wave height (normalized) as a function of duration are consistent with these findings. To inspect nonlinear effects, the buoy observations were supplemented with 10,000 waves observed with laser altimeters mounted on a fixed platform (0 < < 7). The (normalized) crest heights thus observed are typically 5% higher than those observed with the buoys, whereas the (normalized) trough depths are typically 12% shallower. The distribution of the normalized wave heights thus observed is practically identical to the distribution observed with the buoys. These findings suggest that crest heights and trough depths are affected by nonlinear effects, but wave heights are not. One wave in our buoy observations may qualify as a freak wave.
Modeling wave impact on salt marsh boundaries
Authors: Tonelli Mara , Fagherazzi Sergio , Petti Marco
Published: September 2010

Wind‐wave attack is the fundamental cause of erosion of salt marsh boundaries. Tidal forcing acts as a proxy determining at which elevation waves pound against the marsh edge and conditioning the propagation and transformation of wave trains as they move toward these boundaries. The objective of the present work is to evaluate, through analysis of the results of a numerical model, the effect of wave action on marsh boundaries as a function of tidal elevation and wave height for different edge configurations. In order to link numerical simulations to field conditions, the model inputs are based on topographical and hydrodynamical surveys conducted at a study site at the Virginia Coast Reserve (VCR), VA. Model results show that the wave thrust on the marsh scarp strongly depends on tidal level. The thrust increases with tidal elevation until the marsh is submerged and then rapidly decreases. The wave thrust is maximum for a vertical scarp and minimum for a terraced scarp. Similarly, wave energy dissipation is maximized just above the marsh platform elevation, when wave reflection is reduced and wave breaking occurs at the marsh edge.
Seasonal variation of nocturnal temperature and sodium density in the mesopause region observed by a resonance scatter lidar over Uji, Japan
Authors: Ejiri Mitsumu K. , Nakamura Takuji , Kawahara Takuya D.
Published: September 2010

Temperature and sodium (Na) density profiles in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere region were obtained by a Na temperature lidar observation at Uji, Japan (35°N, 136°E) for 136 nights (more than 1200 h) from October 2007 to January 2009. The seasonal and height variations of Na density and temperature in a Northern Hemisphere midlatitude Asian sector are reported for the first time and compared with results obtained in the United States over Colorado (CO) and New Mexico (NM). Monthly composite nocturnal variation indicated significant amplitude of semidiurnal tide in winter and a different tidal mode in summer. An annual variation was dominant in the Na density seasonal variation, with a maximum in November and a minimum in May. An additional second peak was seen at high altitudes (∼94 km) in June–July. This second peak was probably generated by the sporadic Na (Nas) layer frequently observed over Japan. Temperature above 98 km showed an annual variation with a summer maximum. Temperature at 83–98 km showed semiannual variation with peaks in September and April. This temperature variation was similar to that in NM, at the same latitude (35°N), but different from that in CO at 40°N, suggesting latitudinal difference. The summer temperature at 87 km agreed well among the three sites, but the winter temperature at Uji was significantly lower than at the other sites. This difference in winter could be due to an interannual variation and/or a longitudinal dependency possibly caused by nonmigrating tides.
Measurement of the deformation field associated with fracture propagation in weak snowpack layers
Authors: van Herwijnen A. , Schweizer J. , Heierli J.
Published: September 2010

Dry snow slab avalanches release as a result of the failure of a weakly bonded layer located below a slab‐like layer of cohesive snow. Traditionally the failure of the weak layer was attributed to the formation and propagation of volume‐conserving simple shear cracks. Over the past decade, however, evidence for slope‐normal subsidence associated with fracture propagation in snow has accumulated, pointing toward a new understanding of fracture propagation in snow. The typically very high porosity of weak layers implies a loss of volume during fracture, as the aggregate of ice grains composing the weak layer collapses and rearranges in a tighter packing order. Therefore, in the new models failure is attributed to the formation and propagation of mixed‐mode anticracks. In order to experimentally investigate the nature of the deformation field associated with fracture propagation through weak snowpack layers we monitored propagating fractures in field tests on natural snowpacks with a high level of detail using high‐speed photography and analyzed the data with particle tracking velocimetry. The collapse of the weak layer was always observed and ranged between 0.3 cm and 4 cm. In all experiments the collapse was found to coincide with the fracture front. A shear crack preceding the collapse front was not detected at any stage of the process. It is concluded that the volumetric collapse of the weak layer, which is characteristic of anticracking, is the rule rather than the exception for the fracture process in stratified snow and therefore for slab avalanche release.
Models and scales for cross‐shore sandbar migration
Authors: Pape L. , Kuriyama Y. , Ruessink B. G.
Published: September 2010

We investigate the long‐term (months to years) predictability of cross‐shore sandbar migration with two models that operate on different abstraction levels: (1) a coupled, cross‐shore waves‐currents‐bathymetric evolution model and (2) two data‐driven neural network models, based on simplified cross‐shore profile representations and daily averaged wave properties. For model calibration, training, and validation, we use a high‐resolution 15 yearlong profile data set collected at the Hasaki Oceanographic Research Station in Japan. Sandbar behavior at this field site is characterized by cycles of net‐offshore migration with a duration of 1–4 years. We find that all models can produce several general features of sandbar behavior at the studied field site, such as rapid offshore migration, slower onshore return, and net‐offshore migration. However, it is difficult to quantitatively predict the offshore‐directed trends in sandbar location over time scales of months to years. While simple linear models outperform more detailed nonlinear models, for all models it is difficult to predict long‐term sandbar behavior, because of error accumulation in the model's processes over time. Representing processes on a more abstract level (scale aggregation) alleviates error accumulation but does not completely overcome this problem.
Vegetation height and other controls of spatial variability in methane emissions from the Arctic coastal tundra at Barrow, Alaska
Authors: von Fischer Joseph C. , Rhew Robert C. , Ames Gregory M. , Fosdick Bailey K. , von Fischer Paul E.
Published: September 2010

We conducted measurements of methane (CH4) emission and ecosystem respiration on >200 points across the Arctic coastal tundra near Barrow, Alaska, United States, in July 2007 and August 2008. This site contains broad diversity in tundra microtopography, including polygonal tundra, thaw lakes, and drained lake basins. In 2007, we surveyed CH4 emissions across this landscape, and found that soil water content was the strongest control of methane emission rate, such that emission rates rose exponentially with water content. However, there was considerable residual variation in CH4 emission in the wettest soils (>80% volumetric water content) where CH4 emissions were highest. A statistical analysis of possible soil and plant controls on CH4 emission rates from these wet soils revealed that vegetation height (especially of Carex aquatilis) was the best predictor, with ecosystem respiration and permafrost depth as significant copredictors. To evaluate whether plant height served as a proxy for aboveground plant biomass, or gross primary production, we conducted a survey of CH4 emission rates from wet, Carex‐dominated sites in 2008, coincidently measuring these candidate predictors. Surprisingly, vegetation height remained the best predictor of CH4 emission rates, with CH4 emissions rising exponentially with vegetation height. We hypothesize that taller plants have more extensive root systems that both stimulate more methanogenesis and conduct more pore water CH4 to the atmosphere. We anticipate that the magnitude of the climate change–CH4 feedback in the Arctic Coastal Plain will strongly depend on how permafrost thaw alters the ecology of Carex aquatilis.
Has the ozone hole contributed to increased Antarctic sea ice extent?
Authors: Sigmond M. , Fyfe J. C.
Published: September 2010

Since the 1970s sea ice extent has decreased dramatically in the Northern Hemisphere and increased slightly in the Southern Hemisphere, a difference that is potentially explained by ozone depletion in the Southern Hemisphere stratosphere. In this study we consider the impact of stratospheric ozone depletion on Antarctic sea ice extent using a climate model forced with observed stratospheric ozone depletion from 1979 to 2005. Contrary to expectations, our model simulates a year‐round decrease in Antarctic sea ice due to stratospheric ozone depletion. The largest percentage sea ice decrease in our model occurs in the austral summer near the coast of Antarctica, due to a mechanism involving offshore Ekman sea ice transport. The largest absolute decrease is simulated in the austral winter away from the coast of Antarctica, in response to an ocean warming that is consistent with a poleward shift of the large‐scale pattern of sea surface temperature. Our model results strongly suggest that processes not linked to stratospheric ozone depletion must be invoked to explain the observed increase in Antarctic sea ice extent.
Transient response in longitudinal grain size to reduced gravel supply in a large river
Authors: Singer Michael Bliss
Published: September 2010

The first extensive dataset on subaqueous bed material grain size in a large river subject to reduced sediment supply is investigated alongside bathymetry, modeled flow, and sediment flux. Results suggest that following sediment supply decline and a shift to a finer sediment supply, the gravel‐sand transition (GST) in fluvial systems extends and subsequently migrates upstream. The non‐abrupt (∼125 km) GST in the Sacramento River corresponds with a hump in the long profile, indicating recent downstream redistribution of sediment that impacts grain sizes. The hump is composed of sediments winnowed from upstream gravel beds that accumulate downstream where slope declines. This increases local sorting values and coarse sediment flux rates in the GST, leading to further gravel loss by burial and net efflux. Thus, in a transient response to sediment supply changes, whether anthropogenic or natural, the GST extends upstream as a longitudinally patchy bed modulated by bedload sheet transport that favors the loss of gravel.
A lithosphere‐dynamics constraint on mantle flow: Analysis of the Eurasian plate
Authors: Warners‐Ruckstuhl K. N. , Meijer P. Th. , Govers R. , Wortel M. J. R.
Published: September 2010

We present a method to estimate the poorly understood mechanical coupling between lithosphere and underlying mantle, and apply it to the Eurasian plate. Mechanical equilibrium of tectonic plates requires the torque from mantle tractions (M) to be balanced by the torques from edge forces (E) and lithospheric body forces (B). The direction of E proves tightly constrained by plate boundary nature but B is affected uncertainties in the density structure of continents. We consistently find that the non‐zero torque required from mantle tractions does not agree with the orientation of any published absolute motion model. We conclude that mechanical balance of the Eurasian plate requires an actively convecting mantle, which should result in a torque on the Eurasian plate located in the southwest Pacific.
A QuikSCAT climatology of tropical cyclone size
Authors: Chavas D. R. , Emanuel K. A.
Published: September 2010

QuikSCAT data of near‐surface wind vectors for the years 1999–2008 are used to create a climatology of tropical cyclone (TC) size, defined as the radius of vanishing winds. The azimuthally‐averaged radius of 12 ms−1 wind (r12) is calculated for a subset of TCs (N = 2154) whose centers of circulation were clearly identifiable via subjective analysis of the QuikSCAT‐analyzed wind field. The outer radius, r0, is determined from r12 using an outer wind structure model that assumes no deep convection beyond r12. The global median values of r12 and r0 are 197 km and 423 km, respectively, with statistically significant variation across ocean basins. The global distribution of r12 is found to be approximately log‐normal, the distribution of r0 is quantitatively much closer to log‐normal, and the improvement in fit between r12 and r0 is attributed to the combined effect of the nature of the model employed and the paired distributions of r12 and f. Moreover, the normalization employed by Dean et al. (2009) is found to weaken rather than improve the log‐normal fit. Finally, within a given storm, both r12 and r0 tend to expand very slowly with time early in the storm lifecycle and then becomes quasi‐constant, though significant variance exists across storms.
Effect of sporadic E clouds on GPS radio occultation signals
Authors: Zeng Z. , Sokolovskiy S.
Published: September 2010

In this study the effects of sporadic E (Es) clouds on GPS radio occultation (RO) signals are investigated by modeling wave propagation and analyzing observational GPS RO data. It has been shown that when the Es clouds are aligned with the propagation direction, they cause defocusing of the GPS RO signal, accompanied by scintillation above and below the defocusing region (due to the interference of direct and refracted radio waves). These effects result in specific U‐shape structures in the amplitude of the GPS RO signals. When Es clouds are tilted with respect to the propagation direction, the effects reduce and disappear with the increase of the tilt angle. The U‐shape structures are clearly identified in the observed GPS RO signals mainly at tangent point (TP) heights 90–120 km, but also at much lower TP heights. The latter indicates that some Es clouds are tilted with respect to the local horizon (this has also been shown in other studies). The distributions of the observed U‐shape structures in latitude, local time, tilt angle, and vertical thickness of the cloud are evaluated in this study based on one month of COSMIC (Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate) RO data in July 2009.
Poleward reach of the California Undercurrent extension
Authors: Thomson Richard E. , Krassovski Maxim V.
Published: September 2010

The California Undercurrent is known to transport relatively warm, high‐salinity, nutrient‐rich water from the equatorial Pacific to Vancouver Island along the western continental slope of North America. This transport helps maintain the high productivity of the eastern boundary California Current system. In this study, we use several decades of water property survey data for the coasts of Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska to show that equatorial Pacific water carried poleward by the undercurrent can eventually reach the Aleutian Islands, roughly 11,000 km from the source region. Long‐term current meter records confirm the undercurrent as far north as Vancouver Island, where the current is found to be weakest in spring but then to strengthen through the summer and fall before merging with the wind‐forced, poleward flowing Davidson Current in winter. The core depth of the equatorial water increases from 150 m ± 25 m off northwest Washington (near the northern end of the western North America coastal upwelling domain) to 225 m ± 25 m off southeast Alaska (near the southern end of the Gulf of Alaska coastal downwelling domain).
Migration of air bubbles in ice under a temperature gradient, with application to “Snowball Earth”
Authors: Dadic Ruzica , Light Bonnie , Warren Stephen G.
Published: September 2010

To help characterize the albedo of “sea glaciers” on Snowball Earth, a study of the migration rates of air bubbles in freshwater ice under a temperature gradient was carried out in the laboratory. The migration rates of air bubbles in both natural glacier ice and laboratory‐grown ice were measured for temperatures between −36°C and −4°C and for bubble diameters of 23–2000 μm. The glacier ice was sampled from a depth near close‐off (74 m) in the JEMS2 ice core from Summit, Greenland. Migration rates were measured by positioning thick sections of ice on a temperature gradient stage mounted on a microscope inside a freezer laboratory. The maximum and minimum migration rates were 5.45 μm h−1 (K cm−1)−1 at −4°C and 0.03 μm h−1 (K cm−1)−1 at −36°C. Besides a strong dependence on temperature, migration rates were found to be proportional to bubble size. We think that this is due to the internal air pressure within the bubbles, which may correlate with time since close‐off and therefore with bubble size. Migration rates show no significant dependence on bubble shape. Estimates of migration rates computed as a function of bubble depth within sea glaciers indicate that the rates would be low relative to the predicted sublimation rates, such that the ice surface would not lose its air bubbles to net downward migration. It is therefore unlikely that air bubble migration could outrun the advancing sublimation front, transforming glacial ice to a nearly bubble‐free ice type, analogous to low‐albedo marine ice.
Vaccine outlooks
Authors: Hunter Philip
Published: September 2010

Vaccine development against HIV and other viruses has suffered a series of setbacks during the past decade. Our improved understanding of human‐pathogen interactions and new technologies may now give vaccine developers an edge.
A whale of a project
Authors: Jacobs Howy
Published: September 2010

Howy takes aim at the exploitation of ‘scientific research’ as a pretext for the continuation of whale hunting, and calls for the scientific community to raise up its voice in protest.
Power to the scientists
Authors: Wolinsky Howard
Published: September 2010

Major research funding agencies and organizations are offering increasing financial support to young scientists establishing their own research groups. This early independence is triggering changes at universities throughout Europe.
Review article: roles played by 5‐hydroxytryptamine in the physiology of the bowel
Authors: Gershon M.D.
Published: September 2010

The application of 5‐HT to the gut elicits a wide variety of effects because of the expression and wide distribution in the bowel of many subtypes of 5‐HT. There is, however, no reason to believe that all of these receptors are stimulated by endogenous 5‐HT. 5‐HT has been found to be the neurotransmitter of a subset of myenteric interneurons, which evoke a slow excitatory postsynaptic response mediated by 5‐HT1Preceptors. The major enteric depot of 5‐HT is found in mucosal enterochromaffin cells, which are sensory transducers that utilize 5‐HT to activate both intrinsic (via 5‐HT1Pand 5‐HT4receptors) and extrinsic (via 5‐HT3receptors) primary afferent nerves. Mucosal 5‐HT is inactivated by uptake into epithelial cells mediated by the same 5‐HT transporter utilized by serotonergic neurons. Antagonism of 5‐HT3receptors by compounds such as alosetron should be useful in treating functional bowel disease because they can inhibit excitation of extrinsic sensory nerves by 5‐HT without interfering with intrinsic enteric reflexes.
Comparison of racecadotril and loperamide in adults with acute diarrhoea
Authors: Vetel J.M. , Berard H. , Fretault N. , Lecomte J.M.
Published: September 2010

MethodsA multicentre, randomized, double‐blind, double‐placebo, parallel‐group study was carried out to compare the efficacy, tolerability, and safety of racecadotril (100 mg three times daily) and loperamide (2 mg after each diarrhoeic stool) in 157 adults with acute diarrhoea. Patients were treated for 7 days or until recovery, if this took place earlier.

ResultsBoth groups of patients passed similar numbers (mean ± S.E.M.) of stools before recovery (3.5 ± 0.5 for racecadotril vs. 2.9 ± 0.4 for loperamide), and the duration of diarrhoea (mean ± S.E.M.) was similar in both groups (14.9 ± 2.0 h for racecadotril and 13.7 ± 2.2 h for loperamide). Both treatments reduced the incidence of associated symptoms and signs during the study, and both were similarly well tolerated. However, more patients on loperamide reported rebound constipation during treatment (18.7% vs. 9.8% with racecadotril).

ConclusionsThe enkephalinase inhibitor, racecadotril, and the intestinal transit inhibitor, loperamide, were similarly and rapidly effective in resolving the symptoms and associated signs of diarrhoea.
Comparison of racecadotril and loperamide in children with acute diarrhoea
Authors: Turck D. , Berard H. , Fretault N. , Lecomte J.M.
Published: September 2010

MethodsA multicentre, parallel‐group, double‐blind, double‐placebo study was carried out to compare the efficacy, tolerability, and safety of racecadotril and loperamide in children aged 2 to 10 years who were suffering from acute diarrhoea. Patients received racecadotril (1.5 mg/kg) or loperamide (0.03 mg/kg) three times daily plus matching placebo until recovery. Fifty‐two children received racecadotril and 50 loperamide.

ResultsPatients on racecadotril passed a mean (± S.E.M.) of 2.7 ± 0.4 stools before recovery compared with 2.1 ± 0.4 stools for loperamide. The duration of diarrhoea was similar with both treatments. The incidence of adverse events was lower with racecadotril than with loperamide (11.5% vs. 22%), and significantly more patients on loperamide suffered from constipation (58% vs. 36.5%;P = 0.03). Moreover, significantly more children receiving loperamide required concomitant medication during the study (38%v19.2%;P = 0.047). Measurement of abdominal circumference at the final consultation, 6 days after entry to the study, revealed no significant differences between treatments.

ConclusionsRacecadotril and loperamide were equally effective in treating acute diarrhoea in these children, and racecadotril had a superior tolerability and safety profile.
Review article: effects of the 5‐HT3 receptor antagonist alosetron on neuromuscular transmission in canine and human intestinal muscle
Authors: Audolfsson G. , Bayguinov O. , Yamamoto T. , Somogyi G.T. , Schraut W.H. , Sanders K.M. , Bauer A.J.
Published: September 2010

Background: Currently, therapeutic treatments for irritable bowel syndrome fail to produce significant clinical results. We hypothesized that alosetron, a selective 5‐HT3 antagonist, may provide symptomatic relief in irritable bowel syndrome patients through a decrease in the amplitude of gastrointestinal contractions.

Aim: To determine the in vitro effect of alosetron on neuromuscular transmission in the canine and human jejunal and colonic muscularis externa.

Results: Alosetron diminished electrical field‐stimulated (EFS) contractions recorded from muscles of the canine and human small and large intestines. Mechanistically, the diminished EFS response could be explained by the ability of alosetron to decrease the fractional release of 14C‐choline radiolabelled acetylcholine evoked by EFS from human jejunal muscle. The inhibition of EFS contractions was not limited to atropine‐sensitive events, as non‐cholinergic excitatory EFS evoked contractions were also inhibited. Additionally, alosetron at high concentrations (> 30 μm) directly altered bethanechol stimulated contractions.

Conclusion: Caution must be used in the interpretation of these data because significant alterations in EFS‐induced contractions were only observed with large pharmacological concentrations of alosetron, and the response was not selective for cholinergically‐mediated excitatory neuromuscular transmission.
Review article: clinical evidence to support current therapies of irritable bowel syndrome
Authors: Camilleri M.
Published: September 2010

This review summarizes the clinical evidence to support current therapies in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Fibre is indicated at a dose of at least 12 g per day in patients with constipation‐predominant IBS. Loperamide (and probably other opioid agonists) are of proven benefit in diarrhoea‐predominant IBS; loperamide may also aid continence by enhancing resting anal tone. In general, smooth muscle relaxants are best used sparingly, on an ‘as needed’ basis, as their overall efficacy is unclear. Psychotropic agents are important in relieving depression and of proven benefit for pain and diarrhoea in patients with depression associated with IBS. Further trials with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are awaited. Psychological treatments including hypnotherapy are less widely available, but may play an important role in relief of pain. In summary, current therapies targeted on the predominant symptoms in IBS are moderately successful. New therapies are needed to more effectively relieve this syndrome, not just symptoms.
Guidelines for the design of appropriate structures for proper capacitance-voltage measurements on III–V quantum wells
Authors: Panda Siddhartha , Biswas Dipankar
Published: September 2010

Errors encountered in the capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements of quantum well (QW) structures are usually attributed to Debye smearing. The other sources from which errors may occur are not well discussed in literature. In this paper we have highlighted the limits of C-V measurements on QW structures. Simulations have been carried out through the self-consistent solutions of the Schrödinger and Poisson equations for various band offsets, dopings, and temperatures. This will provide guidelines for suitable design of quantum structures for proper C-V measurements.
Evolution of the stimulated Raman scattering instability in two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations
Authors: Masson-Laborde P. E. , Rozmus W. , Peng Z. , Pesme D. , Hüller S. , Casanova M. , Bychenkov V. Yu. , Chapman T. , Loiseau P.
Published: September 2010

In the following work, we analyze one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) full particle-in-cell simulations of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) and study the evolution of Langmuir waves (LWs) in the kinetic regime. It is found that SRS reflectivity becomes random due to a nonlinear frequency shift and that the transverse modulations of LWs are induced by (i) the Weibel instability due to the current of trapped particles and (ii) the trapped particle modulational instability (TPMI) [H. Rose, Phys. Plasmas 12, 12318 (2005)]. Comparisons between 1D and 2D cases indicate that the nonlinear frequency shift is responsible for the first saturation of SRS. After this transient interval of first saturation, 2D effects become important: a strong side-scattering of the light, caused by these transverse modulations of the LW and the presence of a nonlinear frequency shift, is observed together with a strong transverse diffusion. This leads to an increase of the Landau damping rate of the LW, contributing to the limiting of Raman backscattering. A model is developed that reproduces the transverse evolution of the magnetic field due to trapped particles. Based on a simple 1D hydrodynamic model, the growth rate for the Weibel instability of the transverse electrostatic mode and magnetic field is estimated and found to be close to the TPMI growth rate [H. Rose et al., Phys. Plasmas 15, 042311 (2008)].