bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nebulous Labour Relations in Zimbabwe's Rural Local Authorities
Authors: Mandiyanike David
Published: February 2015

Executive turnover can have far-reaching consequences on a local authority’s development policies, programs and commitments. This paper examines nebulous labour-related problems in Zimbabwe’s Rural District Councils (RDCs). The article chronicles the origins of the problems and how the RDCs have fallen prey to historical pitfalls. This paper critically reflects on the recruitment and dismissal of senior Rural District Council officers. The article analyses the longevity of CEOs in eight RDCs over a ten year period. The results demonstrate the sensitivity and vulnerability of such offices, and unpack the blurry boundaries that lie between policies and practice and the resultant impact on the labour relationships with RDC staff.
CJLG Issue 12 May 2013 Full Text
Authors: Tan Su Fei
Published: February 2015

Complete Issue 12 May 2013.
Complete Issue: No. 1, November 2008 (1.8 MB)
Authors: Vo Anna
Published: February 2015

Complete Issue: No. 1, November 2008 (PDF).
Decentralisation or Recentralisation? Trends in local government in Malaysia
Authors: Phang Siew Nooi
Published: February 2015

Local government in Malaysia occupies the third and lowest level after federal and state governments. Under the Malaysian federal constitution (paragraphs 4 and 5 of the Ninth Schedule), local government is the responsibility of the states, but the federal government also exercises considerable power and influence over local government, especially in peninsular Malaysia. The dynamic of the Malaysian federal system is such that it has shifted the balance of power to the centre.Local government accounts for only 1% of GDP. There are 144 local authorities divided into cities (major administrative and commercial centres), municipalities (other urban areas), and districts (chiefly rural areas). Executive powers rest with the Mayor (cities) or President, supported and/or overseen by a system of committees. Currently, local councils in Malaysia are not elected: councillors are appointed by the state government for 3-year terms (with the option of re-appointment) and in most cases come from the ruling coalition.
The role of local government in redressing neighbourhood disadvantage: A case study from Penrith City Council
Authors: Prior Jason
Published: February 2015

The concentration of disadvantage in specific neighbourhoods is a widespread characteristic of many Australian cities. A broad range of policies and programs which utilize integrated forms of governance have been designed and implemented to redress this. Within the state of New South Wales, Australia, local governments have been identified as being amongst the most effective drivers for these integrated governance approaches. Utilizing a case study of the Penrith Neighbourhood Renewal Program, this paper explores recent attempts by Penrith City Council to develop a framework to redress neighbourhood disadvantage, firstly by establishing an integrated governance framework for the program, and secondly by transforming the council’s operational structure.
The Commonwealth Local Government Forum: An Overview
Authors: Slack Lucy
Published: February 2015

The Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) was established in 1994, coinciding with rapid moves towards decentralisation at that time, especially in Commonwealth Africa. It uniquely brings together national associations of local government and individual councils, ministries responsible for local government, and training and research institutes with an interest in local government, on a common platform. This reflects an understanding that local government needs effective central government and vice versa if decentralisation is to be truly successful, and that research, training and practice need to be brought together in a constructive and creative way.CLGF’s developmental work can be divided into three main categories:Promotion and advocacy of local democracy and good governanceExchange of experienceCapacity building This article provides a brief overview of the activities and projects which CLGF has underway in respect of these objectives. It will be complemented by more detailed papers on specific programmes and projects in this and future issues of the Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance.
Heterogeneous chemistry: a mechanism missing in current models to explain secondary inorganic aerosol formation during the January 2013 haze episode in North China
Authors: Zheng B. , Zhang Q. , Zhang Y. , He K. B. , Wang K. , Zheng G. J. , Duan F. K. , Ma Y. L. , Kimoto T.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. Severe regional haze pollution events occurred in eastern and central China in January 2013, which had adverse effects on the environment and public health. Extremely high levels of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5) with dominant components of sulfate and nitrate are responsible for the haze pollution. Although heterogeneous chemistry is thought to play an important role in the production of sulfate and nitrate during haze episodes, few studies have comprehensively evaluated the effect of heterogeneous chemistry on haze formation in China by using the 3-D models due to of a lack of treatments for heterogeneous reactions in most climate and chemical transport models. In this work, the WRF-CMAQ model with newly added heterogeneous reactions is applied to East Asia to evaluate the impacts of heterogeneous chemistry and the meteorological anomaly during January 2013 on regional haze formation. As the parameterization of heterogeneous reactions on different types of particles is not well established yet, we arbitrarily selected the uptake coefficients from reactions on dust particles and then conducted several sensitivity runs to find the value that can best match observations. The revised CMAQ with heterogeneous chemistry not only captures the magnitude and temporal variation of sulfate and nitrate, but also reproduces the enhancement of relative contribution of sulfate and nitrate to PM2.5 mass from clean days to polluted haze days. These results indicate the significant role of heterogeneous chemistry in regional haze formation and improve the understanding of the haze formation mechanisms during the January 2013 episode.
Greenhouse gas network design using backward Lagrangian particle dispersion modelling – Part 2: Sensitivity analyses and South African test case
Authors: Nickless A. , Ziehn T. , Rayner P.J. , Scholes R.J. , Engelbrecht F.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. This is the second part of a two-part paper considering a measurement network design based on a stochastic Lagrangian particle dispersion model (LPDM) developed by Marek Uliasz, in this case for South Africa. A sensitivity analysis was performed for different specifications of the network design parameters which were applied to this South African test case. The LPDM, which can be used to derive the sensitivity matrix used in an atmospheric inversion, was run for each candidate station for the months of July (representative of the Southern Hemisphere winter) and January (summer). The network optimisation procedure was carried out under a standard set of conditions, similar to those applied to the Australian test case in Part 1, for both months and for the combined 2 months, using the incremental optimisation (IO) routine. The optimal network design setup was subtly changed, one parameter at a time, and the optimisation routine was re-run under each set of modified conditions and compared to the original optimal network design. The assessment of the similarity between network solutions showed that changing the height of the surface grid cells, including an uncertainty estimate for the ocean fluxes, or increasing the night-time observation error uncertainty did not result in any significant changes in the positioning of the stations relative to the standard design. However, changing the prior flux error covariance matrix, or increasing the spatial resolution, did. Large aggregation errors were calculated for a number of candidate measurement sites using the resolution of the standard network design. Spatial resolution of the prior fluxes should be kept as close to the resolution of the transport model as the computing system can manage, to mitigate the exclusion of sites which could potentially be beneficial to the network. Including a generic correlation structure in the prior flux error covariance matrix led to pronounced changes in the network solution. The genetic algorithm (GA) was able to find a marginally better solution than the IO procedure, increasing uncertainty reduction by 0.3 %, but still included the most influential stations from the standard network design. In addition, the computational cost of the GA compared to IO was much higher. Overall the results suggest that a good improvement in knowledge of South African fluxes is available from a feasible atmospheric network, and that the general features of this network are invariable under several reasonable choices in a network design study.
Molecular composition of aged secondary organic aerosol generated from a mixture of biogenic volatile compounds using ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry
Authors: Kourtchev I. , Doussin J.-F. , Giorio C. , Mahon B. , Wilson E. M. , Maurin N. , Pangui E. , Venables D. S. , Wenger J. C. , Kalberer M.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. Field observations over the past decade indicate that a significant fraction of organic aerosol in remote areas may contain highly oxidised molecules. Aerosol processing or further oxidation (ageing) of organic aerosol has been suggested to be responsible for their formation through heterogeneous uptake of oxidants and multigenerational oxidation of vapours by OH radicals. In this study we investigated the influence of several ageing processes on the molecular composition of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) using direct infusion and liquid chromatography ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry. SOA was formed in simulation chamber experiments from ozonolysis of a mixture of four biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC): α-pinene, β-pinene, Δ3-carene and isoprene. The SOA was subsequently aged under three different sets of conditions: in the dark in the presence of residual ozone, with UV irradiation and OH radicals, and using UV light only. Among all studied conditions, only OH radical-initiated ageing was found to influence the molecular composition of the aerosol and showed an increase in carbon oxidation state (OSC) and elemental O/C ratios of the SOA components. None of the ageing processes produced an observable effect on the oligomers formed from ozonolysis of the BVOC mixture, which were found to be equally abundant in both "fresh" and "aged" SOA. Additional experiments using α-pinene as the sole precursor demonstrated that oligomers are an important group of compounds in SOA produced from both ozonolysis and OH radical-initiated oxidation processes; however, a completely different set of oligomers is formed under these two oxidation regimes. SOA from the OH radical-initiated α-pinene oxidation had a significantly higher overall OSC and O/C compared to that from pure ozonolysis experiments confirming that the OH radical reaction is more likely to be responsible for the occurrence of highly oxidised species in ambient biogenic SOA.
The vertical structure of cloud radiative heating over the Indian subcontinent during summer monsoon
Authors: Johansson E. , Devasthale A. , L'Ecuyer T. , Ekman A. M. L. , Tjernström M.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. Every year the monsoonal circulation over the Indian subcontinent gives rise to a variety of cloud types that differ considerably in their ability to heat or cool the atmosphere. These clouds in turn affect monsoon dynamics via their radiative impacts, both at the surface and in the atmosphere. New generation of satellites carrying active radar and lidar sensors are allowing realistic quantification of cloud radiative heating (CRH) by resolving the vertical structure of the atmosphere in an unprecedented detail. Obtaining this information is a first step in closing the knowledge gap in our understanding of the role that different clouds play as regulators of the monsoon and vice versa. Here, we use collocated CloudSat-CALIPSO data sets to understand following aspects of cloud-radiation interactions associated with Indian monsoon circulation. (1) How does the vertical distribution of CRH evolve over the Indian continent throughout monsoon season? (2) What is the absolute contribution of different clouds types to the total CRH? (3) How do active and break periods of monsoon affect the distribution of CRH? And finally, (4) what are the net radiative effects of different cloud types on surface heating? In general, the vertical structure of CRH follows the northward migration and the retreat of monsoon from May to October. It is found that the alto- and nimbostratus clouds intensely warm the middle troposphere and equally strongly cool the upper troposphere. Their warming/cooling consistently exceeds ±0.2 K day−1 (after weighing by vertical cloud fraction) in monthly mean composites throughout the middle and upper troposphere respectively, with largest impact observed in June, July and August. Deep convective towers cause considerable warming in the middle and upper troposphere, but strongly cool the base and inside of the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). Such cooling is stronger during active (−1.23 K day−1) monsoon conditions compared to break periods (−0.36 K day−1). The contrasting warming effect of high clouds inside the TTL is found to be double in magnitude during active conditions compared to break periods. It is further shown that stratiform clouds (combining alto- and nimbostratus clouds) and deep convection significantly cool the surface with net radiative effect in the order of −100 and −400 W m−2, respectively, while warming the atmosphere in the order of 40 and 150 W m−2. While deep convection produces strong cooling at the surface during active periods of monsoon, the importance of stratiform clouds, on the other hand, increases during break periods. The contrasting CREs in the atmosphere and at surface, and during active and break conditions, have direct implications for monsoonal circulation.
Optical depths of semi-transparent cirrus clouds over oceans from CALIPSO infrared radiometer and lidar measurements, and an evaluation of the lidar multiple scattering factor
Authors: Garnier A. , Pelon J. , Vaughan M. A. , Winker D. M. , Trepte C. R. , Dubuisson P.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. This paper provides a detailed evaluation of cloud absorption optical depths retrieved at 12.05 μm and comparisons to extinction optical depths retrieved at 0.532 μm from perfectly co-located observations of single-layered semi-transparent cirrus over ocean made by the Imaging Infrared Radiometer (IIR) and the Cloud and Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) flying on-board the CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) satellite. The blackbody radiance taken in the IIR Version 3 algorithm is evaluated, and IIR retrievals are corrected accordingly. IIR infrared absorption optical depths are then compared to CALIOP visible extinction optical depths when the latter can be directly derived from the measured apparent 2-way transmittance through the cloud. Numerical simulations and IIR retrievals of ice crystal sizes suggest that the ratios of CALIOP extinction and IIR absorption optical depths should remain roughly constant with respect to temperature. Instead, these ratios are found to increase quasi-linearly by about 40% as the temperature at the layer centroid altitude decreases from 240 to 200 K. This behavior is explained by variations of the multiple scattering factor ηT to be applied to correct the measured transmittance, which is taken equal to 0.6 in the CALIOP Version 3 algorithm, and which is found here to vary with temperature (and hence cloud particle size) from ηT = 0.8 at 200 K to ηT = 0.5 at 240 K for clouds with optical depth larger than 0.3. The revised parameterization of ηT introduces a concomitant temperature dependence in the simultaneously derived CALIOP lidar ratios that is consistent with observed changes in CALIOP depolarization ratios and particle habits derived from IIR measurements.
Application of flood risk modelling in a web-based geospatial decision support tool for coastal adaptation to climate change
Authors: Knight P. J. , Prime T. , M. Brown J. , Morrissey K. , Plater A. J.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. A pressing problem facing coastal decision makers is the conversion of "high level" but plausible climate change assessments into an effective basis for climate change adaptation at the local scale. Here, we describe a web-based, geospatial decision-support tool (DST) that provides an assessment of the potential flood risk for populated coastal lowlands arising from future sea-level rise, coastal storms and high river flows. This DST has been developed to support operational and strategic decision making by enabling the user to explore the flood hazard from extreme events, changes in the extent of the flood-prone areas with sea-level rise, and thresholds of sea-level rise where current policy and resource options are no longer viable. The DST is built in an open source GIS that uses freely available geospatial data. Flood risk assessments from a combination of LISFLOOD-FP and SWAB models are embedded within the tool; the user interface enables interrogation of different combinations of coastal and river events under rising sea-level scenarios. Users can readily vary the input parameters (sea level, storms, wave height and river flow) relative to the present-day topography and infrastructure to identify combinations where significant regime shifts or "tipping points" occur. Two case studies are used to demonstrate the attributes of the DST with respect to the wider coastal community and the UK energy sector. Examples report on the assets at risk and illustrate the extent of flooding in relation to infrastructure access. This informs an economic assessment of potential losses due to climate change and thus provides local authorities and energy operators with essential information on the feasibility of investment for building resilience into vulnerable components of their area of responsibility.
Polyphase evolution of Pelagonia (northern Greece) revealed by geological and fission-track data
Authors: Schenker F. L. , Fellin M. G. , Burg J.-P.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. The Pelagonian zone, situated between the External Hellenides/Cyclades to the west and the Axios/Vardar/Almopias zone (AVAZ) and the Rhodope to the east, was involved in late Early Cretaceous and in Late Cretaceous–Eocene orogenic events whose duration and extent are still controversial. This paper constrains their late thermal imprints. New and previously published zircon (ZFT) and apatite (AFT) fission-track ages show cooling below 240 °C of the metamorphic western AVAZ imbricates between 102 and 93–90 Ma, of northern Pelagonia between 86 and 68 Ma, of the eastern AVAZ at 80 Ma and of the western Rhodope at 72 Ma. At the regional scale, this heterogeneous cooling is coeval with subsidence of Late Cretaceous marine basin(s) that unconformably covered the Early Cretaceous (130–110 Ma) thrust system from 100 Ma. Thrusting resumed at 70 Ma in the AVAZ and migrated across Pelagonia to reach the External Hellenides at 40–38 Ma. Renewed thrusting in Pelagonia is attested at 68 Ma by abrupt and rapid cooling below 240 °C and erosion of the gneissic rocks. ZFT and AFT in western and eastern Pelagonia, respectively, testify at ~40 Ma to the latest thermal imprint related to thrusting. Central-eastern Pelagonia cooled rapidly and uniformly from 240 to 80 °C between 24 and 16 Ma in the footwall of a major extensional fault. Extension started even earlier, at ~33 Ma in the western AVAZ. Post-7 Ma rapid cooling is inferred from inverse modeling of AFT lengths. It occurred while E–W normal faults were cutting Pliocene-to-recent sediment.
Adjuvant Chemoradiotherapy in Gastric Cancer: A Pooled Analysis of the AIRO Gastrointestinal Group Experience
Authors: Mattiucci Gian Carlo , Valentini Chiara , D'Agostino Giuseppe Roberto , Augurio Antonietta , Capirci Carlo , De Paoli Antonino , Genovesi Domenico , Huscher Alessandra , Iannone Tiziana , Pani Giuseppe , Rosetto Maria Elena , Sciacero Piera , Manfrida Stefania , Corazzi Francesca , Fusco Vincenzo , Luppattelli Marco , Mangiacotti Maria Grazia , Melano Antonella , Murino Paola , Nespolo Rita , Osti Mattia Falchetto , Picardi Vincenzo , Morganti Alessio Giuseppe , Valentini Vincenzo
Published: February 2015

Background

Given the poor compliance with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in gastric cancer reported in previous studies, a survey was conducted among 18 Italian institutions within the AIRO Gastrointestinal Group to investigate current treatment modalities, toxicities, and compliance with adjuvant CRT.

Patients and Methods

Data from 348 patients operated on for gastric cancer were collected retrospectively from September 2000 to June 2008 and analyzed. The adjuvant treatments included CRT according to center guidelines. In multivariate analysis, acute hematological, gastrointestinal, and renal toxicity (according to the RTOG Acute Radiation Morbidity Scoring Criteria) and compliance with treatment were studied, as well as risk factors for local control, metastasis-free survival, disease-free survival, and overall survival.

Results

Compliance with treatment was excellent: 95.7% of patients completed CRT. During CRT, acute G3-G4 hematological toxicity was 3.7% and acute G3-G4 gastrointestinal toxicity 4%. 78.4% of patients completed chemotherapy (CT), either before or after CRT. During CT acute G3-G4 hematological toxicity was 5.4% and acute G3-G4 gastrointestinal toxicity 6%. Overall, 74.1% of patients completed the prescribed treatment (CRT and CT). Doses greater than 4500 cGy did not compensate for more aggressive disease. The 5-year overall survival was 51%.

Conclusions

The adjuvant treatment of gastric cancer within the AIRO group was diverse, but radiotherapy treatment was homogeneous (in terms of technique) and well tolerated. Toxicity was low and compliance with treatment was good during CRT; these results may be due to the radiotherapy technique applied. This survey could be used as a benchmark for further studies.
Mahmoud Darwish:
Authors: SAZZAD REHNUMA
Published: February 2015

Darwish's poetry transcends the national boundary to highlight universal values of life and love through mirroring the Palestinian tragedy. This is well reflected in Memory and “The Hoopoe.” By discussing the stylistic and thematic aspects of the prose poetry and the poem, I highlight Darwish's steadfast commitment to truth and beauty. My discussion aims at demarcating the transition taking place in Darwish's poetic universe toward a more metaphysically poised aesthetics. At the same time, I show how his aesthetics did not allow him to abandon his hope for a better future in his conflict-stricken land. In the end, his language gives him the guarantee of a metaphorical abode in the absence of a physical one, since his poetry upholds the humanist values he stands for.
Formulación sólida a base de Bacillus thuringiensis para el control de larvas de Aedes aegypti
Authors: López Ordoñez Elvin Javier , Marroquín Liliam Carina
Published: February 2015

En la región centroamericana cada vez se registra más decesos, producto de las altas incidencias tanto de dengue clásico y hemorrágico; y Honduras continúa siendo el país más afectado, con una incidencia de dengue clásico de 7,870 casos; dengue hemorrágico con 1,798 casos y 56 muertes contabilizadas. Por lo tanto las acciones de combate al mosquito A. aegypti deben desarrollarse, en lo posible, con un empleo mínimo de insecticidas escogiéndose aquellos productos más seguros, con grado de toxicidad muy bajo y con posibilidad mínima o nula de contaminación del ambiente. Por lo que es necesario el desarrollo de alguna alternativa para combatir las larvas que dan paso a la proliferación del zancudo Aedes aegypti que es el vector de la principal enfermedad que afecta a la población hondureña, mediante técnicas que estén al alcance de la población se puede llegar a la eliminación de este estadio del zancudo, siendo una de estas, la elaboración de una formulación sólida a base de Bacillus thurigiensis que permita alcanzar la mortalidad de larvas de Aedes aegypti. Esta bacteria produce unas proteínas denominadas Cry y Cyt o delta-endotoxinas, que son altamente tóxicas para matar las larvas del mosquito Aedes aegypti. Estas proteínas no contaminan el ambiente ya que son biodegradables y no dañan ningún organismo. Para conocer la eficiencia de esta formulación, se evaluó: tiempo letal medio y tasa de mortalidad de larvas. De acuerdo con los resultados obtenidos se concluye que la formulación a base de Bacillus thuringiensis tiene un efecto larvicida, con un tiempo letal medio de 72 horas, habiendo una tasa de mortalidad de un 57% de larvas de Aedes aegypti. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5377/pc.v4i0.1860 Revista Portal de la Ciencia, No. 4, julio 2013: 38-44
Producción de Trichoderma Harzianum en diferentes sustratos orgánicos
Authors: Benites Bellino Cinthya Margarita , Marroquín Liliam Carina
Published: February 2015

Trichoderma harzianum es un hongo que actúa como agente de control biológico. La producción de este agente se realiza mediante métodos artesanales, para cultivos líquidos, estáticos, sólidos y bifásicos. Uno de los sustratos más utilizados para la producción masiva de Trichoderma harzianum es la casulla de arroz más harina de maíz; ésta tiene un costo relativamente alto y es de difícil adquisición. Esta investigación se estableció con el propósito de encontrar un sustrato orgánico, económico y de fácil adquisición en la región, con el que Trichoderma harzianum tenga una alta producción de esporas. En este estudio se evaluaron los sustratos: sorgo, maíz, olote y bagazo de caña. Después de los estudios realizados se obtuvo como resultado que el sorgo fue el mejor sustrato, tanto, en producción como en germinación de esporas. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5377/pc.v4i0.1864 Revista Portal de la Ciencia, No. 4, julio 2013: 68-74
Effect of Germination on Functional Properties and Degree of Starch Gelatinization of Sorghum Flour
Authors: B. Ocheme O. , E. Adedeji O. , G. Lawal , M. Zakari U.
Published: February 2015

Sorghum grains were germinated for 24, 48 and 72 hours with a view to determining the effect of germination on some functional properties and degree of starch gelatinization of the flour. Flour from non-germinated grains served as control. In order to measure the effect of germination on degree of starch gelatinization, the flours were processed into cookies. Germination of sorghum grains for 48 hours and above significantly (p<0.05) decreased both loose and packed bulk densities from 0.59 g/ml and 0.77 g/ml to 0.56 g/ml and 0.70 g/ml respectively. The water absorption capacity of the sample germinated for 72 hours was 1.38 g/g which was significantly (p<0.05) higher than the other samples. The oil absorption capacity of the samples germinated for 48 and 72 hours (1.16 and 1.18 g/g respectively) were significantly (p<0.05) higher than those of the control sample and 24 hour germination (1.03 and 1.04g/g respectively). Germination also significantly (p<0.05) increased the swelling power (22-23.2 ml/g), foaming capacity (14-16.2%) and emulsion capacity (58.6-65.5%). The degree of starch gelatinization increased with increasing germination time but decreased with increasing temperature. Generally, germination had a beneficial effect on the functional properties measured. Flour obtained from sorghum grains germinated for 72 hours had the best results.
Conjugate observations of traveling convection vortices associated with transient events at the magnetopause
Authors: Kim H. , Clauer C. R. , Engebretson M. J. , Matzka J. , Sibeck D. G. , Singer H. J. , Stolle C. , Weimer D. R. , Xu Z.
Published: February 2015

Traveling convection vortices (TCVs) are generally produced by field‐aligned currents (FACs) at high latitudes associated with transient changes of the magnetopause. This paper presents multipoint conjugate observations of transient events at the magnetopause measured in space and on the ground. The transient events showing radial fluctuation of the magnetopause in association with sudden increases in solar wind dynamic pressure were detected by both the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms and the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite spacecraft. Geomagnetic signatures seen as TCVs in response to the transient events were observed by the ground magnetometer array in Greenland and Canada and their conjugate locations in Antarctica including recently developed Antarctic magnetometers, mostly located along the 40° magnetic meridian. This new conjugate network provides a unique opportunity to observe geomagnetic field signatures over a relatively large region in both hemispheres. This study focuses mainly on the spatial and temporal features of the TCVs in the conjugate hemispheres in relation to the transient events at the magnetopause. The TCV events are characterized by their single or twin vortex, of which the centers are located approximately at 72°–76° magnetic latitude, propagating either dawnward or duskward away from local noon. While interhemispheric conjugacy is expected with an assumption that TCV signatures are created by FACs directed in both hemispheres, our observations suggest that there might be more complex mechanisms contributing the asymmetrical features, perhaps due to field line mapping and/or conductivity differences.
Radiogenic helium degassing and rock fracturing: A case study of the southern Apennines active tectonic region
Authors: Caracausi Antonio , Paternoster Michele
Published: February 2015

Gas from mud volcanoes, dry mofettes, springs, and wells were sampled in a region of active tectonics and high seismicity in the southern Apennines (Italy), where there is a long history of disastrous earthquakes, with the latest (Ms = 6.9) occurring in 1980. The fluids consist of a mixture of mantle‐derived and crust‐derived volatiles, with a low atmosphere‐derived contribution, as identified by the He isotope signature and He/Ne ratio measurements. One year of monthly monitoring of the He concentrations and He isotopes revealed no seasonal modifications or variations induced by low seismicity. There are extraordinary high outputs of 4He produced in the crust in the area (up to 2.5 × 1028 atoms yr−1). These outputs cannot be solely due to the whole‐rock production rate and a long‐lasting diffusion degassing through the crust of the produced 4He. This study explored the relation between the volume of fractured rock and the related release of He. The results support that crustal degassing can be controlled by tectonic events resulting in earthquakes. The high seismicity in this sector of the Apennines provides the conditions necessary for a massive release of He that has accumulated in the rock over a long time period. We identified that the assessed high crustal 4He output can be attributed to an intense fracturing of a calculable volume of rock, which gives new constraints on the volume of rock involved in high‐magnitude earthquakes in the region.
Thermodynamic sea ice growth in the central Weddell Sea, observed in upward‐looking sonar data
Authors: Behrendt A. , Dierking W. , Witte H.
Published: February 2015

Upward‐looking sonar (ULS) data were used to analyze thermodynamic sea ice growth. The study was carried out for an ocean region in the central Weddell Sea, for which data of sea ice thickness variability and of the oceanic heat flux through the ice are rare. In the study area the contribution of sea ice deformation to vertical ice growth is relatively small in some years. This provides the opportunity to simulate thermodynamic sea ice growth considering the influence of a snow cover and of the oceanic heat flux. To this end, a modified version of Stefan's law was used. The resulting ice thickness variations were then compared with the ULS measurements. For the investigated cases, the best consistency between data and model results was obtained assuming a snow layer of less than 5 cm thickness and average oceanic heat fluxes between 6 and 14 W m−2. It is demonstrated that in conjunction with ice drift data and analytical models for thermal sea ice growth, ULS ice thickness measurements are useful for studying the seasonal cycle of growth and decay and for inferring the magnitude of the average oceanic heat flux under sea ice.
Evolution of Derwael Ice Rise in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, over the last millennia
Authors: Drews R. , Matsuoka K. , Martín C. , Callens D. , Bergeot N. , Pattyn F.
Published: February 2015

Ice rises situated in the ice‐shelf belt around Antarctica have a spatially confined flow regime with local ice divides. Beneath the divides, ice stratigraphy often develops arches with amplitudes that record the divide's horizontal residence time and surface elevation changes. To investigate the evolution of Derwael Ice Rise, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, we combine radar and GPS data from three consecutive surveys, with a two‐dimensional, full Stokes, thermomechanically coupled, transient ice‐flow model. We find that the surface mass balance (SMB) is higher on the upwind and lower on the downwind slopes. Near the crest, the SMB is anomalously low and causes arches to form in the shallow stratigraphy, observable by radar. In deeper ice, arches are consequently imprinted by both SMB and ice rheology (Raymond effect). The data show how arch amplitudes decrease as along‐ridge slope increases, emphasizing that the lateral positioning of radar cross sections is important for the arch interpretation. Using the model with three rheologies (isotropic with n=3,4.5 and anisotropic with n=3), we show that Derwael Ice Rise is close to steady state but is best explained using ice anisotropy and moderate thinning. Our preferred, albeit not unique, scenario suggests that the ice divide has existed for at least 5000 years and lowered at approximately 0.03 m a−1 over the last 3400 years. Independent of the specific thinning scenario, our modeling suggests that Derwael Ice Rise has exhibited a local flow regime at least since the Mid‐Holocene.
First steps toward the implementation of a cognitive radar to study plasma instabilities along the magnetic equator
Authors: Sorbello Robert , Urbina Julio , Stephens Zach
Published: February 2015

Cognitive radar is envisioned to be the future of remote‐sensing systems. The idea proposed by details that a cognitive radar will have the ability to learn about the sensing environment and, over time, optimize returns from targets of interest by altering the transmitted pulse waveform. This paper focuses on the first step of the cognitive process for ionospheric radar observations in the equatorial region. In this region, three plasma irregularities are observed very regularly via radar, namely, Spread F, 150 km echoes, and electrojet. During real‐time observations, the first step of the cognitive process entails automatically recognizing the current plasma instability forming in the ionosphere. A preliminary test for the detection and classification of these events is performed off‐line using radar observations from the Jicamarca Radio Observatory, located in Lima, Peru. The chosen classification process utilizes a supervised learning algorithm (Expectation‐Maximization) to generate a probability distribution function (Gaussian Mixture Model) for each plasma instability based on certain measurable criterion. This paper outlines the training and classification process with the resulting cross validation performance subsequently reported. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of the chosen classifier because of the high cross validation and minimal misclassifications of the events.
Quantifying sources of inter‐model diversity in the cloud albedo effect
Authors: Wilcox L. J. , Highwood E. J. , Booth B. B. B. , Carslaw K. S.
Published: February 2015

There is a large diversity in simulated aerosol forcing among models that participated in the fifth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, particularly related to aerosol interactions with clouds. Here we use the reported model data and fitted aerosol‐cloud relations to separate the main sources of inter‐model diversity in the magnitude of the cloud albedo effect. There is a large diversity in the global load and spatial distribution of sulfate aerosol, as well as in global mean cloud top effective radius. The use of different parameterizations of aerosol‐cloud interactions makes the largest contribution to diversity in modeled radiative forcing (−39%, +48% about the mean estimate). Uncertainty in preindustrial sulfate load also makes a substantial contribution (−15%, +61% about the mean estimate), with smaller contributions from inter‐model differences in the historical change in sulfate load and in mean cloud fraction.
Contrast Agent Incorporation into Silicone Enables Real‐Time Flow‐Structure Analysis of Mammalian Vein‐Inspired Soft Pumps
Authors: Loepfe Michael , Schumacher Christoph M. , Burri Cornelia H. , Stark Wendelin J.
Published: February 2015

The construction of machines consisting essentially of soft parts is a nascent and multidisciplinary research field between material science, machine engineering, and robotics. Soft silicones represent a promising class of materials for the creation of a vast multitude of biologically inspired entities. In the present work, a new type of mammalian vein‐inspired soft silicone pump is introduced and characterized, which is fabricated by virtual lost‐wax casting of 3D‐printed injection molds. These pumps can be actuated pneumatically or by internal gas combustion and preserve their functionality even after a freezing/unfreezing cycle. The possibility of using medical examination methods such as ultrasonic imaging to directly access flow information inside soft pumps is shown. Based on soda lime glass microspheres, a method is demonstrated to enhance contrast properties during such color online Doppler imaging for a detailed understanding of the inner fluid‐structure interactions.
Gas absorption into a wavy two‐layer falling film
Authors: Çekiç G. , Sisoev G. M.
Published: February 2015

Absorption of a weakly soluble gas into a two‐layer film flowing down a vertical wall is studied in the framework of an approximate long‐wave model. It is shown that wavy regimes in the film strongly affect the absorption rate. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 2058–2069, 2015
Anticipation in myotonic dystrophy type 1 parents with small CTG expansions
Authors: Pratte Annabelle , Prévost Claude , Puymirat Jack , Mathieu Jean
Published: February 2015

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 is the most common form of adult muscular dystrophy and has the world's highest prevalence in the Saguenay‐Lac‐St‐Jean region, due to a founder effect. This autosomal dominant disorder results from an unstable CTG repeat expansion in DMPK. This region of Canada has had a family screening and predictive testing program for this disorder since 1988. Heterozygotes for small expansions (50–100 CTG repeats) can be asymptomatic or minimally affected. The aim of this study was to assess anticipation for these individuals. At the time of this study, the molecular data of 40 individuals and their 76 affected children were available. We compared 76 parent‐child pairs. Most offspring (92.1%) had a larger number of repeats than their parent and the median number of repeats in the offspring was 325 (range, 57–2000). The number of CTG repeats was significantly greater when the mutation was transmitted by a father (median, 425 repeats; range, 70–2000), than when it was transmitted by a mother (median, 200 repeats; range, 57–1400). The majority (65.8%) of children also had a more severe phenotype than their parent but the sex of the parent had no significant influence on the severity of the child's phenotype. No congenital phenotype was observed. These results confirm that anticipation is present even when the parent is heterozygous for a small CTG expansion. The parental sex has an impact on the size of the repeat in the next generation, larger increases being transmitted by males with a small expansion. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A critical review of the mean measure of divergence and Mahalanobis distances using artificial data and new approaches to the estimation of biodistances employing nonmetric traits
Authors: Nikita Efthymia
Published: February 2015

This article reviews the two most common distance measures employed for the calculation of biodistances based on nonmetric traits, the mean measure of divergence (MMD) and the tetrachoric Mahalanobis D2 distance (TMD). In addition, two new approaches for the estimation of biodistances from nonmetric traits are proposed and assessed. The first (OMD) is based on the direct application of the Mahalanobis distance to ordinally recorded data before their transformation to binary dichotomies. The second (RMD) approximates the covariances of the Mahalanobis distance by the Pearson correlation coefficients calculated in the binary dataset. The application of all four methods to artificial datasets demonstrates that they overall provide a satisfactory estimation of the biodistance among samples especially when the number of statistically non significant distances is very limited. However, the best performance is observed by the OMD, whereas special attention should be paid to the TMD since its values might come out of an ill‐conditioned system. The influence of the number of traits, the effect of missing values, as well as the validity of the test statistics used to assess biodistance significance are also examined and discussed. Am J Phys Anthropol 157:284–294, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Photothermally Induced Local Dissociation of Collagens for Harvesting of Cell Sheets
Authors: Kim Jae Dong , Heo June Seok , Park Teahoon , Park Chihyun , Kim Hyun Ok , Kim Eunkyoung
Published: February 2015

The local heating of poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) by a photothermal effect directed by near‐infrared (NIR) light induces unfolding of absorbed collagen triple helices, yielding soluble collagen single‐helical structures. This dissociation of collagens allowed the harvesting of a living idiomorphic cell sheet, achieved upon irradiation with NIR light (λ=808 nm). The PEDOT layer was patterned and cells were successfully cultured on the patterned substrate. Cell sheets of various shapes mirroring the PEDOT pattern could be detached after a few minutes of irradiation with NIR light. The PEDOT patterns guided not only the entire shape of the cell sheets but also the spreading direction of the cells in the sheets. This photothermally induced dissociation of collagen provided a fast non‐invasive harvesting method and tailor‐made cell‐sheet patterns.
Characterization and Inhibition of the Main Protease of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus
Authors: Kuo Chih‐Jung , Liang Po‐Huang
Published: February 2015

The main protease of SARS‐associated coronavirus (SARS‐CoV), also called 3C‐like protease (3CLpro), is vital for the viral replication. It cleaves the replicase polyproteins at 11 sites and is a promising drug target. Several groups of inhibitors have been identified through high‐throughput screening and rational drug design. In addition to the pharmaceutical applications, a mutant 3CLpro (T25G) with an expanded S1′ space has been demonstrated to tolerate larger residues at P1′, facilitating the cleavage behind the recognition sequence. This review summarizes current developments in anti‐SARS agents targeting 3CLpro and the application of the mutant protease as a tag‐cleavage endopeptidase.
An Expanded Family of Dysprosium–Scandium Mixed‐Metal Nitride Clusterfullerenes: The Role of the Lanthanide Metal on the Carbon Cage Size Distribution
Authors: Wei Tao , Liu Fupin , Wang Song , Zhu Xianjun , Popov Alexey A. , Yang Shangfeng
Published: February 2015

A large family of dysprosium–scandium (Dy‐Sc) mixed‐metal nitride clusterfullerenes (MMNCFs), DyxSc3−xN@C2n (x=1, 2, 2n=68, 70, 76–86) have been successfully synthesized and isolated. Among these, the C70 and C82‐based MMNCFs are two new cages that have never been isolated for MMNCFs. Synthesis of DyxSc3−xN@C2n was accomplished by the “selective organic solid” route using guanidinium thiocyanate as the nitrogen source, and their isolation was fulfilled by recycling HPLC. UV/Vis‐NIR spectroscopic study indicates that almost all DyxSc3−xN@C2n MMNCFs are kinetically stable fullerenes with optical band gaps beyond 1 eV. This feature is distinctly different to their counterparts Dy3N@C2n (78≤2n≤88), whose for optical band‐gaps are below 1 eV for relatively large cages such as C84 and C86. An FTIR spectroscopic study in combination with DFT calculations enables reasonable assignments of the cage isomeric structures of all isolated DyxSc3−xN@C2n (x=1, 2, 2n=68, 70, 76–86) MMNCFs. The carbon cage size distribution of DyxSc3−xN@C2n (2n=68, 70, 76–86) is compared to the reported Dy3N@C2n (78≤2n≤8) homogeneous NCF and DyxSc3−xN@C2n (78≤2n≤88) MMNCF families, revealing that the medium‐sized Dy metal plays a crucial role on the expanded cage size distribution of MMNCFs. As a result, DyxSc3−xN@C2n MMNCFs are the largest MMNCF family reported to date.
Characterization and changes in neurotrophin receptor p75‐expressing motor neurons in SOD1G93AG1H mice
Authors: Smith Kevin S. , Rush Robert A. , Rogers Mary‐Louise
Published: February 2015

Mice with high numbers of the Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase‐1 G93A transgene (SOD1G93AG1H) have become the most commonly used animal model to study amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This study investigated changes in size, numbers, and cell stress/death markers of motor neuron numbers in G1H mice that re‐express the common p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR). SOD1G93AG1H mice and age‐matched C57BL/6J controls at 60, 80, 100, 120 days and end stage/140 days were analyzed for p75NTR, choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3), and cleaved caspase‐3. In addition, motor neuron counts and soma sizes were recorded. Motor neurons re‐expressing p75NTR in SOD1G93AG1H mice were first observed at 80 days, and this continued to 140 days, peaking at 100–120 days at ∼5%. The soma area of motor neurons re‐expressing p75NTR was always 600–800 µm2, suggesting that these are alpha motor neurons, which was confirmed after examination of somas post injection of a retrogradely transported antibody to p75NTR in 110‐day‐old SOD1G93AG1H mice. In motor neurons not re‐expressing p75NTR, the frequency of small soma 200–400 µm2 motor neurons increased, whereas the larger 600–900 µm2 motor neurons decreased with progression, indicating that large motor neurons were dying off and shrinking in the process. There was minimal coexpression of p75NTR with ATF3, a marker for cell stress, but 85% coexpressed the apoptotic marker cleaved caspase‐3. These findings indicate that in SOD1G93AG1H mice, p75NTR re‐expression is detectable from 80 days in a small population of large motor neurons that represent 5% of the total motor neurons. Furthermore, p75NTR re‐expression occurs in larger alpha motor neurons that express cleaved caspsase‐3 and are destined to die. J. Comp. Neurol. 523:1664–1682, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Interim Anatase Coating Layer Stabilizes Rutile@CrxOy Photoanode for Visible‐Light‐Driven Water Oxidation
Authors: Zhuang Huaqiang , Miao Jianwei , Huang Haowei , Long Jinlin , Zhang Yingguang , Yang Hongbin , He Sha , Yang Yanhui , Wang Xuxu , Liu Bin
Published: February 2015

Ternary core–shell heterostructured rutile@anatase@CrxOy nanorod arrays were elaborately designed as photoanodes for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting under visible‐light illumination. The four‐fold enhanced and stabilized visible‐light photocurrent highlights the unique role of the interim anatase layer in accelerating the interfacial charge transfer from the CrxOy chromophore to rutile nanorods.