bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Unscheduled School Closings and Student Performance
Authors: Marcotte Dave E. , Hemelt Steven W.
Published: July 2008

Do students perform better on statewide assessments in years in which they have more school days to prepare? We explore this question using data on math and reading assessments taken by students in the third, fifth, and eighth grades since 1994 in Maryland. Our identification strategy is rooted in the fact that tests are administered on the same day(s) statewide in late winter or early spring, so any unscheduled closings due to snow reduce instruction time and are not made up until after the exams are over. We estimate that in academic years with an average number of unscheduled closures (five), the number of third graders performing satisfactorily on state reading and math assessments within a school is nearly 3 percent lower than in years with no school closings. The impacts of closure are smaller for students in fifth and eighth grades. Combining our estimates with actual patterns of unscheduled closings in the last three years, we find that more than half of schools failing to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) in third-grade math or reading, required under No Child Left Behind, would have met AYP if schools had been open on all scheduled days.
The Poetic Treatment of atque from Catullus to Juvenal
Authors: Butterfield
Published: July 2008

The remarkable avoidance of unelided, i.e. preconsonantal, atque in Latin poetry has long been observed, although scholars have either offered no reason for it or but a single, and thereby necessarily inadequate, explanation. My purpose in this paper is twofold: (i) to establish accurate figures, based upon close textual scrutiny and emendation, for the poetic treatment of atque from Catullus to Juvenal; (ii) to draw together multiple interconnected reasons for why the handling of atque was so distinct. After a chronological account of the poetic treatment of the conjunction, both linguistic and stylistic reasons are found to be of great importance, whereas metrical reasons are seen to be of far lesser relevance.
Erysichthon der Jäger: SSH 970.22 und Call. Cer. 81-2
Authors: Skempis Marios
Published: July 2008

This paper proposes a solution to the longstanding controversy over the identity of the obscure hunter named Aithon in SSH 970.22 by identifying him with the Callimachean Erysichthon. The fact that Erysichthon's alternative name Aithon has already been established in the Hellenistic period constitutes the primary indication for this identification. Callimachus' Hymn to Demeter includes a key-reference to Erysichthon as a hunter (ll. 81 f.) which can be suggestive of the hero's participation in the Calydonian Hunt. It is the premise of my argument that the association of the two Hellenistic texts is possible by assuming a variant list of Calydonian hunters, featuring Erysichthon among others. This list could have been the source of both the anonymous elegist and Callimachus. Further intertextual affinities and structural similarities between the two narratives are put forward to support this view.
Polos euergetês: Rhetoric and Poetry in the Gorgias
Authors: Robertson G.I.C.
Published: July 2008

Halfway through his conversation with Sokrates in the Gorgias, Polos claims that it would be easy to refute the philosopher's argument that it is better to act with justice than without it. Asking his interlocutor to proceed with the refutation, Sokrates urges him (470c): 'do not tire of doing favours (ευεργετων) for a friend'. In its metre and sense, this phrase is reminiscent of Pindaric lyric, and its vocabulary recalls that of Olympian 2.93-4 in particular; it will be argued here that a 'Pindaric' reading of Sokrates' injunction to Polos is appropriate. Sokrates' adoption of the language of a laudator of tyrants at this point in the conversation is relevant to the presentation in the Gorgias of related themes (flattery, tyranny, and euergesia) and to Sokrates' eironic posture in the dialogue; it also suits Platonic treatments of Pindar and poetry in general.
Personification Allegory in the Aeneid and Ovid's Metamorphoses
Authors: Lowe Dunstan
Published: July 2008

This article will show that Ovid's well-known innovations in the use of personification allegory combine closely with those of Virgil, to form a distinctive 'Augustan' phase in the development of allegory in classical literature. Both Ovid and Virgil make fictional abstractions concrete and ontologically ambiguous. Innovations common to both the Aeneid and Metamorphoses constitute an important stage in the emergence of 'compositional allegory', in the wake of the Roman adoption of Stoicising interpretative reading practices in the course of the first century BC. Both epics involve Furies as models for their major personified abstractions, both in narrative role and in concrete detail. Uniquely in and to Roman literature, Furies changed from supernatural beings into personified abstractions. This change, enabled by the semantic replacement of proper names such as Erinys or Eumenis with the word Furia ('frenzy'), produced new depth and complexity in the form and metaliterary function of personifications in Roman epic and later literary traditions.
Eighteenth (duodevicesimus) or Twenty-Second (duoetvicesimus)? Twenty-Second but duovicesimus (Gel. 5.4.1-5 and Non. s.v. duodevicesimo p. 100M)
Authors: Verbrugghe Gerald
Published: July 2008

Manuscripts of two relatively late authors of classical Latin, Aulus Gellius and Nonius Marcellus, have garbled the word duovicesimus, a word that fell out of use after the first century BC. Modern scholars have had difficulty in restoring the true form of the word to the ancient manuscripts and then in assessing the effect of that restoration on the histories written by three authors of the second and first centuries BC, who are cited as having used that word: Fabius Pictor, Cato the Elder, and Varro. Once the valid form of the word is restored and its meaning realized, the following conclusions are possible. Fabius Pictor had his own peculiar chronology of the period between the Gallic sack of Rome and the first plebeian consul. Cato the Elder marked the beginning of the siege of Sarguntum as the sixth violation of a treaty by the Carthaginians. It is highly likely that Varro had Ancus Marcius die in the twenty-second year of his reign.
What's In A Name? Scholarship and the Pathology of Conservative Protestantism
Authors: Smith Leslie
Published: July 2008

Conservative Protestants are often defined by their reactionary response to a changing world, and their social and theological embrace of a rigid, absolutist order. This essay considers what is at stake in this definition. The essay analyzes common modes of differentiation between liberal and conservative Protestants (e.g., theology, demographics, and political affiliations) to see whether the different ways of describing these two groups is methodologically warranted. Concluding that significant overlap exists between these communities, the essay turns to Judith Butler's model of pathological rhetoric to consider why such otherwise descriptively problematic labels such as “conservative Protestant,” “fundamentalist,” and “evangelical” continue to be used by scholars.
Challenges Facing the Neurological Study of Religious Behavior, Belief, and Experience
Authors: McNamara Patrick , Wildman Wesley
Published: July 2008

The neurological study of religious behavior, belief, and experience faces many challenges related to research conception, experimental design, and interpretation of results. Some of these problems are common to other types of neurological study of behavioral and cognitive phenomena. Others are distinctive to the specifically religious domain of behavior, belief, and experience. This paper discusses eight of these problems and three key strategic principles for mitigating them. It then proposes an eight-step framework for research into the neurology of religious behavior, belief, and experience that implements the three strategic principles and addresses all eight of the problems.
Authenticity, Invention, Articulation: Theorizing Contemporary Hawaiian Traditions from the Outside
Authors: Johnson Greg
Published: July 2008

This article theorizes potential contributions of outsider analysis to the study of contemporary indigenous traditions, taking Native Hawaiian canoe voyaging and repatriation disputes as its primary examples. The argument proceeds by specifying analytical contributions of articulation theory in contrast to limitations of invention and authenticity discourses. A shared liability of the latter discourses is identified in their tendency to reify identity in ways that preclude engagement with the full range of cultural articulations constitutive of living tradition. Cultural struggle, in particular, is theorized as the aspect of identity articulation that is most explanatory of the character of tradition and least addressed by theories of invention and authenticity.
Inside Out and In Between: Comparing the Comparativists
Authors: McKeown Elizabeth
Published: July 2008

This review essay constructs a comparison among three scholars who think about religion and comparison: Jonathan Z. Smith, Francis X. Clooney and Robert A. Orsi. It employs Smith's rules for comparison in the study of religion by recalling his essays on Judaism and suggesting that we might also want to “Take Catholicism, For Example.” It is intended to express the author's deep gratitude to Smith for making the study of religion pretty interesting.
“Of And and Of : The Politics of Grammar and the Study of Religion”
Authors: Ellis Thomas
Published: July 2008

Grammatical constructions in course titles and research agendas reflect particular theoretical orientations in the study of religion. Privileging one construction over the others amounts to a politics of grammar. Two constructions are examined here—the conjunction and the genitive: “Religion and. . .” and “. . .of Religion.” Whereas non-reductive methods such as theology/phenomenology and cultural anthropology endorse the conjunction, reductive methodologies such as biological anthropology invoke the genitive. With the evidence amassing in favor of natural, human universals (pace cultural anthropology) and against supernatural realities (pace theology/phenomenology), the essay argues that only the genitive construction has a place in the study of religion.
Justice and Peace? – The Role of Law in Resolving Colombia's Civil Conflict
Authors: Burbidge Peter
Published: July 2008

The Colombian Parliament's Justice and Peace law of 2005, introduced by the government of President Alvaro Uribe, allows members of armed groups involved in Colombia's 40-year old conflict to re-enter civilian life by paying an alternative penalty of 5-8 years' prison, even where their crimes concern mass-murder. The process is conditional on a full confession and the proper recompense for the victims. The Law however benefits primarily the pro-state paramilitaries, as the left-wing guerrilla groups have yet to make peace, and has thus been described as a transitional justice system without the transition. This article considers the provisions of the 2005 law against the background of the Constitutional Court's 2006 decision on its validity and the requirements of international criminal law and human rights law. It considers whether it satisfies the requirements of the International Criminal Court, which has jurisdiction over Colombia's conflict but with an opt-out till 2009 for war-crimes. Will the process resolve the problem of Colombia's "impunity" – the failure to prosecute paramilitary crimes - which has been condemned by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights? In conclusion it compares the process to other transitional justice systems in South Africa and Northern Ireland.
The Law of Interim Release in the Jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunals
Authors: Müller Clemens
Published: July 2008

The right of interim release during trial is an international recognized fundamental right of the accused which is deduced from the presumption of innocence. Although the ICTY has shifted to a more liberal practice, the other tribunals and the ICC are still applying the law of interim release in a restrictive manner. Decisions on interim release are not guided by clearly decisive factors to be applicable for every single accused in each case. Rather an examination of the particular facts of the case and the personality or character of the accused, surrounded by a framework of requirements set forth in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, determine the practice on interim release. The way international criminal tribunals apply the law of interim release is, like international criminal proceedings as such, of a design sui generis. This article summarises the case-law concerning interim release at the international criminal tribunals. It gives an in-depth study on the requirements set forth in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence which the accused must fulfil to be provisional released.
The Special Court for Sierra Leone – Fair Trials and Justice for the Accused and Victims
Authors: Howarth Kathryn
Published: July 2008

This article examines the issues of a "fair trial" and "justice" at the Special Court for Sierra Leone. It considers these issues in a broad sense, from both the perspective of the accused and the victims, through the exploration of three specific topics: first, the idea of prosecuting "those bearing greatest responsibility" for crimes committed during the conflict in Sierra Leone, second, the first prosecution of the crime of recruiting child soldiers, and third, the first prosecution of forced marriage.
Defending the Khmer Rouge
Authors: Skilbeck Rupert
Published: July 2008

The author outlines the lengthy negotiation process to create the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia and the continued negotiations over the Internal Rules of the ECCC. The novel aspects of the procedure at the court are examined, looking at the investigation, the role of the civil party and the need for secrecy. There follows a survey of the ways in which defence lawyers have been supported in war crimes trials since Nuremberg, highlighting some of the recurring problems that have arisen and the system that is being used in Cambodia. Finally, the allegations against the five suspects before the ECCC are outlined and the legal issues that are likely to arise at the Court.
Business and Human Rights – Time to Hold Companies to Account
Authors: Leader Daniel
Published: July 2008

It is not widely appreciated that the recent six year conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo was the deadliest war since World War II. An estimated 3.8 million people, mostly civilians, lost their lives as a result of the conflict. The West must accept a large degree of responsibility for this tragedy as the war was fuelled to a great extent by western multinationals. These companies either directly or indirectly purchased or exploited the natural resources under the control of the various armed groups. Unscrupulous corporations can engage in this behaviour with impunity in weak governance zones. Human Rights NGOs have tried to hold some of these companies to account by filing complaints in the UK using the "soft law" mechanism of the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises. However, the British Government displayed a breathtaking unwillingness to hold companies to account. It is increasingly clear to both responsible business and the human rights community that a robust accountability mechanism must now be created.
Arab and Islamic Shari'a Perspectives on the Current System of International Criminal Justice
Authors: Maged Adel
Published: July 2008

The Arab World is currently witnessing various conflicts, which have resulted in the death and displacement of many innocent civilians. It is notable that the current system of international criminal justice has failed to address many of the atrocities committed during those conflicts. In order to rectify this, it is imperative that "voices of reason" accurately convey to the West the attitudes of the Arab people towards this system. This article attempts to illustrate, on the one hand, that Islamic Shari'a principles, which have had a remarkable impact on the Arab legal systems, are compatible with the provisions of the current system of international criminal justice, and to explain, on the other hand, Arab skepticism with regard to that system.
When the Child Surpasses the Father – Admissible Defences in International Criminal Law
Authors: Fournet Caroline
Published: July 2008

Due to the heinous nature of international crimes, admissible defences in the context of international criminal justice understandably constitute an issue surrounded with controversy. Yet, while International Criminal Law precludes the use of a series of defences, it also admits that certain grounds may exclude individual criminal responsibility or mitigate punishment even in the case of the most serious international crimes. The present study thus proposes to analyse the permissibility of these defences and the availability of such grounds for excluding responsibility by drawing a comparison between Public International Law and International Criminal Law and by highlighting the differences and discrepancies between the two systems. Ultimately, this analysis aims at demonstrating that International Criminal Law, one of Public International Law's children, has now surpassed its parent to become a more sophisticated and a fairer legal and judicial system, for both the defendants and the victims.
Is the International Criminal Court the Way Ahead?
Authors: O'Callaghan Declan
Published: July 2008

This article charts the development of the International Criminal Court against the backdrop of shifting international relations. It identifies the expressed hopes that the perpetrators of the gravest crimes will be brought to justice and considers the initial successes of the Court. It also addresses what may be fundamental weaknesses which may ultimately undermine the rule of law. To the question posed, an answer may be that the International Criminal Court remains a revolutionary innovation but lacks the power and jurisdiction to succeed in its main goal; the provision of justice for all victims of the gravest crimes known to humanity.
On the Construction Date of the Derbend Fortification Complex
Authors: Gadjiev Murtazali
Published: July 2008

The paper discusses several aspects of the history of one of the great architectural and fortifying undertakings of the Sasanian period, namely the Derbend defensive wall. Comparing all the available data on the time of this construction, the author draws a picture of the key historical events of the 6th century A.D., the complicated relations of the Sasanians with their neighbours, and the phenomenon of the so-called Northern tribes, against whom, strictly speaking, the Derbend fortification complex was erected. The article gives a convincing answer to the problem of the construction date of the Derbend fortification complex, rightfully called the Great Caucasian Wall.
The Autonomous State in Iran: Mobility and Prosperity in the Reign of Shah 'Abbas the Great (1587-1629)
Authors: Mousavi Mohammad
Published: July 2008

Among the Safavid Shahs, 'Abbas I (1587-1629), was the chief architect of the modern Iranian state. He consolidated the state by securing the borders, establishing a central administration and bureaucracy, fortifying the economy and creating a standing army responsible not to the tribal heads but to the king as the head of the state. He turned the kingdom into a cohesive and stable monarchy. The state, with the Shah on top, using the new bureaucracy and the coercive force, reached a level of autonomy in which it was fortified by a direct access to financial resources. While bureaucracy was an instrument for regime enhancement and control, the army played the crucial role of system maintenance and was the guarantor of the Safavid rule. To achieve this objective, the state used: 1) social mobility of displacing the Qizilbash element, in favour of Caucasians, Persians and ordinaries; 2) land ownership mobility through transferring toyūls to crown estate; and 3) financial mobility.
'Ideal Scheme' or 'Passing over the Rainbow': Transmission of the Georgian Cultural Identity among the Fereydani Gorjīs
Authors: Khalvashi Tamta
Published: July 2008

Conceptualising Fereydani Georgians, who have lived in Iran for almost 400 years, I have always found myself asking how such groups manage to survive as groups at all and why these kinds of people strive to maintain their sense of identity or retain their cultural memory? I place the concept of identity at the heart of the analysis. Therefore, this article explores the main aspects of identity maintenance and transmission through the presentation of a number of ethnographic materials based on my own research among Fereydani repatriates now living in Tbilisi. I try to show how certain traditions, rituals, customs, etc. are transmitted from generation to generation in the place where the environment is not native, and how such cultural artefacts express the elements of identity.
Georgian laqe, an 'addle egg' in Kartvelian Review of a Georgian Etymology
Authors: Bläsing Uwe
Published: July 2008

The paper deals with the revision and correction of the etymology of GEORGIAN laqe “rotten, addle egg”, which the late Prof. Georgij Klimov considered Kartvelian in his Etymological Dictionary. On the basis of an extensive areal study it can be concluded though that the term is not genuinely Kartvelian but must stem from a non-Kartvelian source, which is most likely Persian. The subsequent spread to other regional languages such as Turkish, Armenian, Kurdish, Ossetic, Lezgian, etc. will be also discussed.
Conditional and Other Functions of Forms in /-(zα(.))r/ in Abkhaz
Authors: Hewitt George
Published: July 2008

Protases ('if'-clauses) in the North West Caucasian language Abkhaz are mostly marked by either /-r/ or /-zα.r/, depending on the tense and/or type of verb (Stative or Dynamic) concerned. The article presents examples of this conditional usage and the role of protasis-type forms in both temporal and interrogative expressions as well as in complementiser-function. The complementisers in question share the semantic feature of irrealis with conditionals. A rhotic element is also found in the non-finite form of the Future I tense, in the Masdar (verbal noun), and in such converbs as the Purposives, the Resultative and the Future Absolute. The article attempts to link the semantic notions of futurity, potentiality, indefiniteness or general irrealis to the rhotic element and asks what might have been the historical development resulting in the forms attested today and thus their original morphological segmentation.
TABARICA II Some Mazandarani Verbs
Authors: Borjian Habib
Published: July 2008

This paper studies the Tabari verbs bāutεn 'to say', baitεn 'to seize', hākεrdεn 'to do', and daptuniεn 'to throw'. It proposes that the past stem of 'say' is derived from the Old Iranian *gaub- rather than the commonly assumed root *wač-. It postulates also that the nasal element in the present stem kεn- 'do' is not exclusively due to the integration of the old participial formant *-ant-, but also because the stem is an offspring of a nasalised Old Iranian present stem, as is the case with Persian kun-. The verb 'throw', largely extinct but appearing in various forms in the 19th-century documentations, is subjected to a comparative analysis against some other Iranian languages.
A New Locative Case in Turkmenistan Balochi
Authors: Korn Agnes
Published: July 2008

The Balochi dialect spoken in Turkmenistan possesses a case which is not seen in most other Balochi dialects. It has local/directive function, and its marker is a suffix that shows the oblique case marker suffixed to the genitive ending. The “locative” is also found in the Balochi dialect of Afghanistan, but here, the local deixis appears to always refer to a person. I argue that the locative may be interpreted within a typological framework implying that local deixis referring to persons is blocked in some languages. Instead, these languages use periphrastic constructions of the type “at a person's [place]”, as do English (e.g. at the baker's) and Old Georgian, among others. In Turkmenistan Balochi, areal influence from Russian and Turkmen, which have a separate locative case, may have played a role in the generalisation of the locative to include inanimates as well.
Iran's Contributions to Human Rights, the Rights of Women and Democracy
Authors: Borbor Dariush
Published: July 2008

Most scholars generally pre-suppose that the concept of democracy is the exclusive creation of classical Greece and a token of the West to the rest of the world. This concept has originated mainly due to the fact that much of the ancient Iranian history was only known through classical Greek writings before the ever-increasing archaeological finds and decipherments of ancient Near Eastern primary sources, which have shed a very different light on the subject. This paper attempts to alleviate and restore a few of the more vital recurring misunderstandings, misinterpretations and misconceptions in this field, and endeavours to present them in a more realistic historic and historiographic perspective in the light of the latest available scholarship. Beginning in 2200 B.C. Old Elamite Kingdom, was the first manifestation in the world of a structured and, at times, democratically elected heads of state based on matriarchal right of descent. Beginning in Elam and continuing at least to the beginning of the Islamic period, no ancient peoples, including the Greeks and the Egyptians, have surpassed the practice of the rights of women, and the equality of men and women as in Iran. In early 7th century B.C. Iran, the pronouncement by Zoroaster, through Avestan literature, was the first manifestation of the rights of women and unequivocal equality of gender in all aspects and positions of society. In the second part of the 7th century B.C. Media, we encounter the ratification by popular vote of the first constitution for a democratically elected confederated empire, headed by Dioces, who was the first recorded popularly elected emperor. In 539 B.C., we come upon the declaration of the first generally accepted Charter of Rights of Nations by Cyrus the Great. In 522-486 B.C., in the reign of Darius the Great, appeared the first confirmation of a written entrenched democratic constitution. In the 4th century A.D. (or earlier) Sasanian Iran, the first appearance of an advanced system of Common Law based on well-documented jurisprudence was materialised. And finally, the confederated system of government in Iran, which survived the vicissitudes of history and changes of several dynasties, remained in force one way or the other to become the most enduring system of government in world history spanning a period of two-and-half millennia.
Christian Armenia, Islamic Iran: Two (Not So) Strange Companions Geopolitical Stakes and Significance of a Special Relation ship
Authors: Zarifian Julien
Published: July 2008

This articles aims to present and analyse the healthy relationship between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Armenia. Although focusing on the current geopolitical stakes and realities of the relationship, this article will also use history and the perceptions it has built to understand today's situation. Based on a long common history, this relationship inscribes itself in a complex geopolitical regional situation where international and local actors interact. These ties between both countries, although poorly explored, are particularly significant in the fields of politics, economy, energy, and culture. The study of this relationship offers a new outlook of the geopolitical complexity of this part of Eurasia, and presents both actors, Armenia and Iran, in a new light.
Use of Thiols as Protecting Ligands in Reflective Surface Films of Silver Nanoparticles
Authors: Faucher Luc , Borra Ermanno F. , Ritcey Anna M.
Published: July 2008

We report the preparation of metal liquid-like films (MELLFs) of silver nanoparticles stabilized by thiolate surface ligands. These surface films, composed of particles with diameters of about 100 nm, are highly reflective and can be employed in the fabrication of liquid mirrors. A
number of different thiols are considered as stabilizing ligands, including alkanethiols, aromatic thiols and dithiols. Under identical preparation conditions, some lead to the spontaneous formation of reflective surface films, whereas others do not. Shorter chain alkanethiols (C2 to C8),
thiophene and thiophenol are found to be effective whereas longer chain alkanethiols (C10 and C12) and short dithiols (C2 and C3) do not produce reflective films. Ethanethiol and propanethiol protected particles form surface films with reflectivities in the near-IR that surpass those of a
previous generation of MELLFs prepared with 1,10-dimethylphenanthroline as the ligand. This enhanced reflectivity is attributed to a more closely packed nanoparticle film with a higher metal volume fraction. The closer proximity of the particles, however, leads to enhanced coupling of their
surface plasmon resonance and increased absorption in the visible region of the spectrum. Short chain dithiols do not produce MELLFs but rather provoke particle aggregation. In the case of 1,2-ethanedithiol, the particles are found to precipitate in a continuous organic matrix, presumably
caused by oxidative polymerization of the dithiol to a polydisulfide. Finally, preliminary investigations indicate that a large variety of organic solvants can be employed in the preparation of thiol protected MELLFs.
CFD-Aerosol Modeling of the Effects of Wall Composition and Inlet Conditions on Carbon Nanotube Catalyst Particle Activity
Authors: Brown David P. , Nasibulin Albert G. , Kauppinen Esko I.
Published: July 2008

The evolution of iron catalyst particles during aerosol (floating catalyst) Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) synthesis of Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) from CO is computed using a multi species Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model incorporating a lognormal aerosol method of moments (MOM)
to describe their dynamics and a combined chemical kinetics and equilibrium model for catalytic production of CO2. The influence of the presence of iron at the reactor walls, the fed particle size, number concentration and polydispersity and the effect of the catalytic production
of CO2 at the reactor wall are studied in terms of particle size, concentration and polydispersity and reagent concentration during CNT synthesis. It is found that iron catalyst particle dynamics are essentially insensitive to wall iron concentrations and, for a wide range of particle
sizes and concentrations, it is found that the catalyst particles are stable up to a critical CNT window in which CNT nucleation and growth occurs. Concentrations of catalyst particles significantly above 1 × 1014 #/m3, however, lead to poor control over catalyst
particle size and polydispersity at the CNT nucleation front which, in turn, leads to poor control over CNT diameter. The location of the growth window is shown to be directly associated with the availability of catalytically produced CO2 diffusing from the reactor walls to the
reactor core. These results help to explain the large variations in CNT diameter and chirality and the inefficient use of catalyst material in other floating catalyst CNT processes based on in-situ catalyst particle synthesis.
High Power Density from Pt Thin Film Electrodes Based Microbial Fuel Cell
Authors: Sharma Tushar , Reddy A. Leela Mohana , Chandra T. S. , Ramaprabhu S.
Published: July 2008

Microbial Fuel Cells (MFC) are robust devices capable of taping biological energy, converting sugars into potential sources of energy. Persistent efforts are directed towards increasing power output. However, they have not been researched to the extent of making them competitive with
chemical fuel cells. The power generated in a dual-chamber MFC using neutral red (NR) as the electron mediator has been previously shown to be 152.4 mW/m2 at 412.5 mA/m2 of current density. In the present work we show that Pt thin film coated carbon paper as electrodes
increase the performance of a microbial fuel cell compared to conventionally employed electrodes. The results obtained using E. coli based microbial fuel cell with methylene blue and neutral red as the electron mediator, potassium ferricyanide in the cathode compartment were systematically
studied and the results obtained with Pt thin film coated over carbon paper as electrodes were compared with that of graphite electrodes. Platinum coated carbon electrodes were found to be better over the previously used for microbial fuel cells and at the same time are cheaper than the preferred
pure platinum electrodes.
Preparation and Characterization of Polymer Nanocomposite Containing PMMA, Styrene and Nanoalumina
Authors: Singh Dhananjay , Jayasimha T. , Rai K. N. , Kumar Anil
Published: July 2008

Polymer syrup of polymethyl methacrylate and polystyrene reinforced with 2% non settling nanoalumina particles was prepared by dual initiating system containing benzoylperoxide (BPO), azobisisobutyro nitrile (AIBN) and dimethylaniline (DMA). Nanoalumina particles were prepared using
autoignition of aluminum nitrate and urea. Nanoalumina particles show the tendency of agglomeration in the polymer matrix because of the presence of hydroxyl groups on its surface. To get better dispersion in polymer matrix, the alumina surface was treated with methacrylol isocyanate, synthesized
by the reaction of methacrylol chloride and sodium azide in the presence of dry benzene at 0 °C. The polymer syrup prepared this way was applied between two PMMA sheets of 10 cms × 10 cms × 2 mm dimensions each and the composite thus prepared was tested with Bullet Firing Machine
as well as Vertical Drop Weight Impact Testing Machine. The impact strength measurements of two plates composite using both these procedures showed that the impact resistance was found to double in case of nanoalumina. The composite of ten layers and of eleven layers was further tested by
0.32 IOF revolver and Sub Machine Gun Carbine 9 mm 1A1 respectively from 10 m distance which produced an ordinary indent with no penetration.
Shape and Size Control of Nano Dispersed Mg/Al Layered Double Hydroxide
Authors: Panda H. S. , Srivastava R. , Bahadur D.
Published: July 2008

Controlling the shape and size of the layered inorganic–organic hybrid particles is a challenge with conventional methods of synthesis. The co-precipitation method has been modified to synthesize Mg/Al Layered double hydroxide by controlling the particle growth using ultrasonic
wave at the time of nucleation. In this project, magnesium and aluminum ions were considered as model systems with carbonate anion as intercalating agent. The resulting particles are compared with those of LDHs produced by conventional co-precipitation method at constant pH. Powder X-ray diffraction
confirmed formation of the layered double hydroxide phases having crystallite size 19–20 nm in both 'a' and 'c' crystallographic directions. Transmission electron microscope and dynamic light scattering revealed nano disperse hexagonal platelets with narrow size distribution
and average size was around 48 nm. The modified method reduces the particle size, increases the surface charge, narrows down the size distribution and also reduces the aspect ratio of the particles. Therefore, it is suggested that low amplitude ultrasonic wave prevents the aggregation of the
nuclei, thus restricting the particle growth and results in uniform size particles.
XRD and Mössbauer Spectroscopy Investigation of Mn Substituted CuFe2O4 Nanoparticles
Authors: Rai A. , Banerjee M.
Published: July 2008

The effect of Mn substitution in Cu ferrite may present a challenge, as there are three transition metals ions distributed among the two available crystallographic sub lattices. This system also presents complicated super exchange interactions. In this study a series of five powdered
samples with composition Cu1−xMnxFe2O4 were investigated using XRD and transmission Mössbauer spectroscopy. The variation of lattice parameter, crystallite size, and Mössbauer parameters of the product formed with the
variation in the concentration of Mn has been studied. XRD study revealed the formation of pure phase spinels with FCC cubic structure having particle size ranging from 7.2 nm to 20 nm. Lattice constant value showed constant increase with increasing Mn concentration. AFM image confirms the
formation of spherical shaped nanoparticles. Mössbauer spectroscopy proves to be an excellent tool for probing the local environment of Fe atoms present in such materials. Results show two sets of six finger patterns for all the samples with two double line pattern obtained for the composition
with x = 0.75 and 1.0, indicating the presence of Fe in both A and B site. Increase in Mn concentration first increases the hyperfine field and then it gradually decreases. This effect is observed at both the sites. This effect is due to the relative strengths of Fe-O-X super
exchange (X = Fe, Mn, Cu) as well as number of different nearest neighbour of A and B sites. The unexpected behaviour for the last two compositions can be explained by the presence of particle size distribution that results in superparamagnetic behaviour.
Growth, Characterization and Gas Sensing Properties of Nanotetrapod ZnO
Authors: Kaur Manmeet , Bhattacharya Shovit , Saxena Vibha , Aswal D. K. , Roy Mainak , Deshpande S. K. , Gupta S. K.
Published: July 2008

ZnO nanotetrapods have been obtained in large quantities by carbothermal reduction of ZnO powder. These were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction, UV-visible
spectroscopy and photoluminescence. Electron microscopy revealed that the overall size of the tetrapods is 1.5–2 μm and legs are 30–50 nm in diameter. The size of tetrapods as well as diameter of the legs was found to increase with deposition temperature. Photoluminescence
spectra revealed that green emission originating from oxygen vacancies overwhelmed that of the near-band-edge ultraviolet peak. A band gap of 3.27 eV was calculated from optical absorption spectra which agreed well with that estimated from PL spectra. Gas sensing properties of tetrapods were
investigated and these were found to be 5 times more sensitive to H2S gas at room temperature in comparison to ZnO bulk polycrystalline material.
The Effect of Topography on Storm-Track Intensity in a Relatively Simple General Circulation Model
Authors: Son Seok-Woo , Ting Mingfang , Polvani Lorenzo M.
Published: July 2008

The effect of topography on storm-track intensity is examined with a set of primitive equation model integrations. This effect is found to be crucially dependent on the latitudinal structure of the background flow impinging on the topography. If the background flow consists of a weak double jet, higher topography leads to an intensification of the storm track downstream of the topography, consistent with enhanced baroclinicity in that region. However, if the background flow consists of a strong single jet, topography weakens the storm track, despite the fact that the baroclinicity downstream of the topography is again enhanced.

The different topographic impact results from the different wave packets in the two background flows. For a weak double-jet state, wave packets tend to radiate equatorward and storm-track eddies grow primarily at the expense of local baroclinicity. In contrast, for a strong single-jet state, wave packets persistently propagate in the zonal direction and storm tracks are affected not only by local baroclinicity but also by far-upstream disturbances via downstream development. It is the reduction of the latter by the topography that leads to weaker storm tracks in a strong single-jet state. The implications of these findings for Northern Hemisphere storm tracks are also discussed.
Reconstructing Millennial-Scale, Regional Paleoclimates of Boreal Canada during the Holocene
Authors: Viau A. E. , Gajewski K.
Published: July 2008

Regional paleoclimate reconstructions for northern Canada quantify Holocene climate variability on orbital and millennial time scales and provide a context to better understand the current global warming. The reconstructions are based on available pollen diagrams from the boreal and low Arctic zones of Canada and use the modern analog technique (MAT). Four regional reconstructions document the space–time evolution of the climate during the Holocene. Highest summer and winter temperatures anomalies are found in central Canada during the early Holocene. Eastern Canada was relatively cool in the early Holocene, whereas central Canada was warmest at that time. Labrador was relatively dry in the early to mid-Holocene during which time western Canada was relatively moist. Millennial-scale temperature variations, especially the Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age are seen across the continent, with some suggestion of time-transgressive changes from west to east. At the millennial scale, precipitation anomalies are of opposite signs in eastern and western Canada. The results herein indicate that modern increases in temperatures in northern Canada far exceed natural millennial-scale climate variability.
On the Stochastic Nature of the Rapid Climate Shifts during the Last Ice Age
Authors: Ditlevsen Peter D. , Ditlevsen Ove D.
Published: July 2008

The rapid climate shifts observed in the glacial climate are analyzed. The transitions into the warm interstadial states, the onsets, are easily identifiable in the record. The distribution of waiting times between consecutive onsets is well fitted, assuming that the remaining residence time in each state is independent of the past. This implies that it has a simple no-memory exponential waiting time distribution, but with the mean waiting time depending on the climate state. The mean waiting time from one onset to the next is around 2400 yr. The most likely (maximum likelihood) distribution derived solely from the onset sequence is rather insensitive to the mean waiting time in the warm interstadials in the range of 400–1200 yr. When extending the analysis to include the transitions from the warm interstadials to the cold stadials observed with a larger uncertainty, the distributions in the two states are well fitted to exponential distributions, with mean waiting times of around 800 yr in the warm state and around 1600 yr in the cold state. This observation is an important piece in the climate puzzle, because the fact that the climate is a no-memory process indicates that the transitions are noise induced and the mean residence time in one state indicates how stable that climate state is to perturbations. The possibility of a hidden periodic driver is also investigated. The existence of such a driver cannot be ruled out by the relatively sparse data series (containing only 21 onsets). However, because the record is fitted just as well by the much simpler random model, this should be preferred from the point of view of simplicity.
Atmospheric Circulation Trends, 1950–2000: The Relative Roles of Sea Surface Temperature Forcing and Direct Atmospheric Radiative Forcing
Authors: Deser Clara , Phillips Adam S.
Published: July 2008

The relative roles of direct atmospheric radiative forcing (due to observed changes in well-mixed greenhouse gases, tropospheric and stratospheric ozone, sulfate and volcanic aerosols, and solar output) and observed sea surface temperature (SST) forcing of global December–February atmospheric circulation trends during the second half of the twentieth century are investigated by means of experiments with an atmospheric general circulation model, Community Atmospheric Model, version 3 (CAM3). The model experiments are conducted by specifying the observed time-varying SSTs and atmospheric radiative quantities individually and in combination. This approach allows the authors to isolate the direct impact of each type of forcing agent as well as to evaluate their combined effect and the degree to which their impacts are additive. CAM3 realistically simulates the global patterns of sea level pressure and 500-hPa geopotential height trends when both forcings are specified. SST forcing and direct atmospheric radiative forcing drive distinctive circulation responses that contribute about equally to the global pattern of circulation trends. These distinctive circulation responses are approximately additive and partially offsetting. Atmospheric radiative changes directly drive the strengthening and poleward shift of the midlatitude westerly winds in the Southern Hemisphere (and to a lesser extent may contribute to those over the Atlantic–Eurasian sector in the Northern Hemisphere), whereas SST trends (specifically those in the tropics) are responsible for the intensification of the Aleutian low and weakening of the tropical Walker circulation. Discrepancies between the atmospheric circulation trends simulated by CAM3 and Community Climate System Model, version 3 (CCSM3), a coupled model driven by the same atmospheric radiative forcing as CAM3, are traced to differences in their tropical SST trends: in particular, a 60% weaker warming of the tropical Indo-Pacific in the CCSM3 ensemble mean than in nature.
Statistical Tests of Taylor’s Hypothesis: An Application to Precipitation Fields
Authors: Li Bo , Murthi Aditya , Bowman Kenneth P. , North Gerald R. , Genton Marc G. , Sherman Michael
Published: July 2008

The Taylor hypothesis (TH) as applied to rainfall is a proposition about the space–time covariance structure of the rainfall field. Specifically, it supposes that if a spatiotemporal precipitation field with a stationary covariance Cov(r, τ) in both space r and time τ moves with a constant velocity v, then the temporal covariance at time lag τ is equal to the spatial covariance at space lag r = vτ that is, Cov(0, τ) = Cov(vτ, 0). Qualitatively this means that the field evolves slowly in time relative to the advective time scale, which is often referred to as the frozen field hypothesis. Of specific interest is whether there is a cutoff or decorrelation time scale for which the TH holds for a given mean flow velocity v. In this study, the validity of the TH is tested for precipitation fields using high-resolution gridded Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) reflectivity data produced by the WSI Corporation by employing two different statistical approaches. The first method is based on rigorous hypothesis testing, while the second is based on a simple correlation analysis, which neglects possible dependencies between the correlation estimates. Radar reflectivity values are used from the southeastern United States with an approximate horizontal resolution of 4 km × 4 km and a temporal resolution of 15 min. During the 4-day period from 2 to 5 May 2002, substantial precipitation occurs in the region of interest, and the motion of the precipitation systems is approximately uniform. The results of both statistical methods suggest that the TH might hold for the shortest space and time scales resolved by the data (4 km and 15 min) but that it does not hold for longer periods or larger spatial scales. Also, the simple correlation analysis tends to overestimate the statistical significance through failing to account for correlations between the covariance estimates.