bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Graphite and NBR on the Hardness of Fly-Ash/Phenolic Composite for Brake Lining Application
Authors: Savetlana Shirley , Akhyar Ibrahim Gusri
Published: August 2015

Composite development is very intense to replace heavy and expensive metallic materials. One application of composite is a brake pad for vehicle. The composite for brake lining is consisted of various components which are divided into reinforcement, binder, friction modifier and filler. Composite in this study is made with variation in weight of graphite, NBR, fly-ash and phenolic resin. The hardness test was carried out to investigate the mechanical properties of the composite. Observation of the composite surface was carried out using SEM. The hardness test shows that an appropriate composition of the phenolic, fly-ash and NBR was result in high hardness value of fly-ash/phenolic composite.
Preparation, Characterization of Fe3O4/TiO2/CuO Nanohybrid and its Potential Performance for Chromium Removal from Aqueous Solution
Authors: Arifin Sarah A. , Jalaludin Shofianina , Saleh Rosari
Published: August 2015

Fe3O4/TiO2and Fe3O4/CuO nanohybrid nanohybrid materials have attracted widespread attention due to their scientific and technological importance as photocatalyst. Complicated process is usually used to synthesize these nanohybrid. In this study, we demonstrated a simple low-temperature sol-gel method to prepare Fe3O4/TiO2/CuO nanohybrid as photocatalyst. Hexavalent chromium was used as a model pollutant to evaluate their photocatalytic activity. The results of the photoreduction of hexavalent chromium in aqueous solution indicated that with the incorporation of CuO content in Fe3O4/TiO2nanohybrid increasing the photocatalytic performance in ultraviolet and visible region. Moreover, it is found that hydroxyl radical has an important role in photocatalytic efficiency.
Ultrasonic Melt Processing: Achievements and Challenges
Authors: Eskin Dmitry G.
Published: August 2015

Ultrasonic melt processing of light alloys has enjoyed a revival in the last 15 years. Although the scientific foundation and first examples of industrial application date back to the 1950s–1970s, the technological application of ultrasound in melt and solidification processing has not been fully accomplished. In recent years, the availability of advanced reliable equipment, new basic knowledge gained through modeling and dedicated experiments, and the industrial demand for clean, environment friendly technology sparked an interest in this technology and ensuing research. This paper reports on the currently achieved level of ultrasound application in light metal processing, i.e. degassing and grain refinement of light alloys and metal-matrix composite material manufacturing, and discusses challenges that still prevent large-scale implementation, both from fundamental and applied points of view. The main mechanisms underlying the effects of ultrasonic processing such as cavitation in melts, nucleation and fragmentation of solid phases, forced convection induced by cavitation zone and acoustic streaming, and mixing and distribution of solid inclusions are explained. The paper is illustrated by examples of research done under the supervision of the author.
Development of New Oxide Based Master Alloys and their Grain Refinement Potency in Aluminium Alloys
Authors: Sreekumar Vadakke Madam , Hari Babu N. , Eskin Dmitry G. , Fan Z.
Published: August 2015

In this study, grain refinement efficiency of a new oxide master alloy based on MgAl2O4was demonstrated in Al alloys. The grain size of the reference alloy was reduced by 50-60% with the addition of the master alloy and introduction of ultrasonic cavitation. While cooling rate has an influence on the grain size reduction, higher levels of addition of master alloy was found to be not effective in further reducing the grain size.
Thermal Stability of Al-Si-Cu-Mg Cast Alloys Modified with Transition Metals Zr, V and Ti
Authors: Czerwinski Frank , Shaha S.K. , Kasprzak W. , Friedman J , Chen Dao Lun
Published: August 2015

The hypoeutectic Al-7Si-1Cu-0.5Mg (wt%) alloy was modified with micro-additions of Zr, V and Ti in order to improve its thermal stability. As revealed by a number of experimental techniques, Cu and Mg rich phases along with the eutectic Si dissolved in the temperature range from 300 to 500°C. At the same time, the (AlSi)x(TiVZr) phases containing transition metals were present up to 696–705°C. During isochronal aging, the modified alloy exerted different aging characteristics than the reference A380 grade with a higher peak hardness and a lower temperature of alloy softening. Micro-additions of Ti, V and Zr positively affected the alloy strength during testing both in as-cast state and after T6 heat treatment. Improvements in tensile and compressive strength as compared to the reference alloy were preserved up to temperatures over 200 °C with more positive effect seen for the T6 state.
Effect of Al-5Ti-1B Grain Refiner Addition on the Formation of Intermetallic Compounds in Al-Mg-Si-Mn-Fe Alloys
Authors: Que Zhong Ping , Wang Yun , Zhou Y.P. , Liu L. , Fan Z.
Published: August 2015

The effect of Al-5Ti-1B grain refiner addition on solidification microstructure, especially the formation of the binary eutectic (Al)+Al15(Fe,Mn)3Si2was investigated in Al-5Mg-2Si-0.7Mn-1.1Fe (wt.%) alloy. The experimental results showed that the solidification microstructure were consisted of primary α-Al phase, inter dendritic binary eutectic (Al)+Al15(Fe,Mn)3Si2, and ternary eutectic (Al+Mg2Si+Al15(Fe,Mn)3Si2). The heterogeneous nucleation of the primary (Al) phase in the alloys was greatly enhanced by the Al-5Ti-1B grain refiner, refining the (Al) grains significantly. The subsequent binary eutectic was nucleated on these refined (Al) phase. Consequently, the size of Al15(Fe,Mn)3Si2phase with a Chinese script morphology in the binary eutectic was greatly refined, without much change in the secondary branch spacing.
Influence of Supercooling on the Formation of Primary Phase during Solidification
Authors: Yoshimura Ryo , Esaka Hisao , Shinozuka Kei
Published: August 2015

It is reported actual volume fraction of the primary phase in alloys is larger than the equilibrium value. Larger volume fraction of the primary phase may cause shrinkage cavities and surface or internal cracks. Although control of the solidified structure is important for the quality of cast products, this problem has not been fully elucidated. Taking these results into account, this study has been carried out in order to comprehend the phenomenon of larger volume fraction of primary phase. The Sn-Pb alloy has been used as a test alloy to examine the relation between supercooling for nucleation and the volume fraction of primary phase. Actually, the volume fraction of the primary phase in Sn-Pb alloy is larger than that of the lever rule. It was also observed that the volume fraction of β-Sn decreases with decreasing the supercooling in the early stage of solidification. In the final stage of solidification, however, the effect of supercooling on volume fraction of primary phase is small. Futhermore, when the supercooling was low, the volume fraction of primary phase slowly increased.
Magnesium Melt Protection
Authors: Hort Norbert , Wiese Börn , Dieringa Hajo , Kainer Karl Ulrich
Published: August 2015

Mg especially in the molten state is well known for its high affinity to O2. When O2 content of the atmosphere is larger than 4%, molten Mg will burn! To avoid this, melt protection is necessary. At present mostly SF6 is used during primary production and processing of Mg and its alloys. Unfortunately SF6 is a very potent greenhouse gas that is > 23,000 times more effective than CO2. This also affects life cycle considerations e.g. for the use of Mg alloys in transportation. However, other protective gases like SO2 or fluorinated hydrocarbons like HFC134a, Novec 612, or AMCover (=HFC134a) have been suggested to replace SF6. Additionally fluxes mixed from different salts may be used again as well to protect molten Mg. But fluxes and feasible replacements of SF6 have also disadvantages. Moreover SF6 and other fluorinated hydrocarbons are under discussion especially in Europe. There is an existing EU legislation that will ban SF6 from 2018 and there are similar discussions regarding all other fluorinated hydrocarbons. Due to this, new innovative ways have to be found or old methods have to be renewed to allow Mg industries further safe processing of molten magnesium. This contribution will report the state of the art in protecting molten Mg and alternatives to the use of SF6.
Report on Adaptive Force, a specific neuromuscular function
Authors: Hoff Marko , Schaefer Laura , Heinke Nancy , Bittmann Frank
Published: August 2015

In real life motions, as well as in sports, the adaptation of the neuromuscular systems to externally applied forces plays an important role. The term Adaptive Force (AF) shall characterize the ability of the nerve-muscle-system to adapt to impacting external forces during isometric and eccentric muscle action. The focus in this paper is on the concept of this neuromuscular action, which is not yet described in this way. A measuring system was constructed and evaluated for this specific neuromuscular function, but only the main information of the evaluation of the measuring system and the preliminary reference values are mentioned here, while an article with detailed description will be published separately. This paper concentrates on the three following points: 1) What is the peculiarity of this neuromuscular function, introduced as AF? 2) Is the measuring system able to capture its specific characteristics and which phases of measurement occur? 3) It seems reasonable to discuss if AF can be distinguished and classified among the known force concepts. The article describes the measuring system and how it is able to capture special features of real life motions like submaximal intensities and the subjects’ option to react adequately on external varying forces. Furthermore, within one measurement the system records three different force qualities: the isometric submaximal Adaptive Force (AFiso), the maximal isometric Adaptive Force (AFisomax) and the maximal eccentric Adaptive Force (AFeccmax). Each of these phases provide different and unique information on the nerve-muscle-system that are discussed in detail. Important, in terms of the Adaptive Force, seems to be the combination of conditional and coordinative abilities.
Electrical stimulation enhances reinnervation after nerve injury
Authors: Willand Michael P.
Published: August 2015

Electrical muscle stimulation following peripheral nerve injury has been a controversial method of treatment due primarily to the inconsistent literature surrounding it. In this presentation transcript I outline ongoing experiments investigating a clinically translatable daily muscle stimulation paradigm in rats following nerve injury. Results show that reinnervation of muscle and functional behavioural metrics are enhanced with daily stimulation with upregulation of intramuscular neurotrophic factors as a potential mechanism. In addition, the impact of stimulation on terminal sprouting, a mentioned negative aspect of electrical muscle stimulation, was a minor contributor to long term functional reinnervation of stimulated muscles in our studies.
Swaarde wat in ploegskare verander, is nie vrede nie – Vrede (שָׁלֹום) in Jesaja 40–66
Authors: Van der Walt Chris
Published: August 2015

Swords turning into ploughshares is not peace – Peace (שָׁלֹום) in Isaiah 40−44. ‘Swords being turned into ploughshares’ are often portrayed as being tantamount to peace. Peace though has got a more extensive meaning than only the absence of war. Whilst war and destruction is on the forefront in Isaiah 1–39, the opposite is true in Isaiah 40–66. The intention of this article is therefore to demonstrate the extensive meaning of peace (שָׁלֹום) as it unfolds as a motive in Isaiah 40–66. Because of a lack of space, only the first three passages directly mentioning שָׁלֹום [peace] will be discussed. Even though this discussion will be incomplete, it will reveal that peace is not part of man’s normal state, that not everyone will experience peace and that there is a direct link between peace and the rule of God.
A missional perspective on funerals and bereavement counselling
Authors: Kotze Peter , Niemandt C.J.P.
Published: August 2015

This article deals with the importance of a missional approach to the funeral and bereavement counselling process in congregational praxis in the midst of a context of secularisation. The creation of a missional perspective on the funeral and bereavement counselling could support the nature and praxis of a congregation in a secular society, especially if the congregation finds its relevance in the expression of the missio Dei. The basic theoretical research for missional ecclesiology, which is the systematic study directed toward greater knowledge of the fundamental aspects of missional ecclesiology (National Science Foundation 1953:38), is based on the premise that God is the source of all missions. The expression missio Dei means to join God in the mission he is already busy with in the world. As the one who sends, God the Father sends the Son, the Son sends the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit sends the church. The church only participates in the mission God is already busy with. It is a mission that uses both words and deeds and brings hope in the midst of tragedy. It is the hope of the kingdom of God and the incarnation of Christ that can already be experienced and expressed in the present. It is also the hope of the transformation of everything to form a new heaven and earth. Hope and mission can therefore not be separated. The concretisation of the expression of the kingdom of Christ in the world is hope, and a strong emphasis is therefore placed on mission as action in hope. Hope must be present where tragedy reigns, and the funeral and bereavement counselling can be used as a vehicle for this hope. Hope can then become an instrument of healing. The church can thus participate in God’s mission in the midst of tragedy and make an impact on society by taking on a missional character of hope.
Treatment of severe maxillary cleft hypoplasia in a case with missing premaxilla with anterior maxillary distraction using tooth-borne hyrax appliance
Authors: Shetty Akshai , Shetty Anjana , Bonanthaya Krishnamurthy , Shetty Pritham , Rao Dipesh
Published: August 2015

Cleft orthodontics generally poses a challenge and a missing premaxilla adds to the difficulty in managing them. The lack of bone support and anterior teeth in a case with missing premaxilla accounts not only for difficulty in rehabilitation but also in increasing the maxillary hypoplasia. This article presents a case report where planned orthodontic and surgical management using distraction has helped treat a severe maxillary hypoplasia in a patient with missing premaxilla. The treatment plan and method can be used to treat severe maxillary hypoplasia and yield reasonably acceptable results for such patients.
Markup and meter: Using XML tools to teach a computer to think about versification
Authors: Birnbaum David J. , Thorsen Elise
Published: August 2015

This paper describes an XML-based system to identify and visualize some of the structural features of natural-language poetry. Poetic texts are poster children for overlapping hierarchies, since the organization of poems into cantos, stanzas, lines, and feet is largely independent of the sentences and words of the text. Foot boundaries and word boundaries are mutually independent, yet the implementation of caesura depends on their synchronization. Furthermore, the formal organization of poetry is not only overlapping, but also massively discontinuous in terms of how underlying formal structures like meter or rhyme are realized in natural orthography. In many poetic traditions, stress and pronunciation are only implicit in written texts, and our first challenge is to identify those structures automatically and add markup to make them explicit, so that we can then use them to identify such properties as meter and rhyme. When stress and pronunciation are made explicit within an XML model, the most natural representations will often involve mixed content, which poses special challenges for subsequent XML processing.
The State of MathML in K-12 Educational Publishing
Authors: Cuellar Autumn , Kaplansky Jean
Published: August 2015

Educational publishers are moving to modern, single-source XML production workflows and are embracing MathML as part of the process. The development of single-source publishing workflows is part of a much larger digital evolution aimed at enabling publishers to make content available both as traditional print products and digital content as ebooks.

Furthermore, K-12 publishers are becoming more competitive by including supplemental materials available through digital-only learning management systems that implement a combination of ebook content, teacher lecture material, assignments, assessments, and automatically graded homework assignments.

However, educational publishers face challenges in producing math content through modern single-source multiple output publishing workflows including:

Support for constructs unique to K-12, such as geometry and visual, mathematical representations (e.g., diagrams, charts).

Government regulated accessibility requirements and lack of multiple assistive technology tool support for students (e.g., support for print content disabilities that are not necessarily a matter of physical disability).

Inconsistent or non-existent MathML support across the major web browser rendering engines that are the basis of popular desktop and mobile web browsers.

Competing educational publisher business requirements and management priorities.

Assessment and adaptive learning limitations due to inconsistent or non-existent MathML support within browsers.

The purpose of this article is to review various publishing challenges specific to K-12 educational content publishers. A further goal of the article is to provide insight into cooperative solutions mitigating current K-12 MathML publishing challenges. The assertions and recommendations in this article require the fully engaged participation of K-12 educational publishing production management and staff, XML-based markup subject matter experts, and the web browser rendering engine development community.
UnderDok
Authors: Huitfeldt Claus
Published: August 2015

UnderDok is an XML system for publishing, quality assurance, and change tracking of higher education course descriptions. The documents have a fixed structure, numerous cross-references, and prose interspersed with standard phrases. Each document exists in a native language form, in an English translation, and sometimes in additional languages. Changes must be tracked relative to the last authorized version. Up to now, documents have been produced in Microsoft Word and manually copied to a database, a process both labor-intensive and error-prone. UnderDok provides solutions to many of these technical challenges, but may also inspire reflections on the metaphysical status of documents. It is suggested that a course description, by which an institution and its students are legally bound, is neither the source XML nor the presentation XHTML, but a visual object containing linguistic information that occurs in certain situations and contexts. The legal stability for these documents, which was traditionally provided by printed pages, is now provided by the reproducibility (standardization) of document representation and presentation technology.
Extending the Cybersecurity Digital Thread with XForms
Authors: Lubell Joshua
Published: August 2015

The digital thread for cybersecurity enables security technologies and data sources to interoperate. It consists of an integrated collection of languages, taxonomies, and metrics represented using the Extensible Markup Language (XML). A current gap in the cybersecurity digital thread is the lack of good software for tailoring the security controls found in National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-53, and exporting the result in a structured XML format. An application built using XForms demonstrated success in providing a specialized user interface for tailoring security controls, enforcing NIST SP 800-53 tailoring guidelines, and in generating XML content suitable for automated processing by other cybersecurity tools.
Two from Three (in XSLT)
Authors: Lumley John
Published: August 2015

This paper discusses automated methods of 'downgrading' XSLT 3.0 programs into XSLT 2.0 syntax and semantics. The stimulus was running portions of a document processing system, that had been upgraded to use more coherent features of XSLT 3.0, in the environment of a browser-based standards-compliant XSLT 2.0 implementation (Saxon-CE). The work involves detailed knowledge of XSLT and is intended to automate significant sections of the 'downconversion', leaving other sections to conditional compilation directives. All conversion tools are of course written in XSLT and several aspects involve partial processing and evaluation of XSLT semantics within XSLT.
Tricolor automata
Authors: Sperberg-McQueen C. M.
Published: August 2015

Tricolor automata are extensions of finite state automata, intended for the comparison of two regular languages; states and arcs in the automaton are colored to indicate whether they are peculiar to one language or the other, or common to both. Their design represents a simple application to practical purposes of ideas derived from the work of Glushkov and Brzozowski. Examples are given to show how tricolor automata can be used to visualize the intersection, union, and set difference of two languages, and algorithms for constructing them are given.
Vivliostyle - Open source, web browser based CSS typesetting engine
Authors: Murakami Shinyu , Wilm Johannes
Published: August 2015

We are working on a new typesetting engine using CSS for styling implemented in JavaScript. In this article we argue why such a project is needed, and why we think this is the most fitting for the digital publishing era as it can unify web, ebook and print publishing.
Three Ways to Enhance the Interoperability of Cross-References in TEI XML
Authors: Kalvesmaki Joel
Published: August 2015

Systems are 'interoperable' if each can work with products of the other with minimal external intervention. Semantic interoperability (exchange of underlying meaning not just syntax) is the goal. Currently supported TEI cross-reference mechanisms are typically not interoperable without extensive human intervention. I offer three practical ways to make standard TEI cross-references more semantically interoperable. The first is the deployment of Canonical Text Services URNs. The second is informal agreements among communities to adopt shared Schematron rules. Both of these methods can be implemented right now; the barriers are practical not technical. The third method is stand-off markup based on the Text Alignment Network, a planned TEI-friendly XML format for the interchange of aligned texts.
Divide and Conquer: can we handle complex markup simply?
Authors: La Fontaine Robin
Published: August 2015

Cultural Heritage markup can quickly become complex because of the need to represent multiple, and even overlapping, hierarchical structures. It can therefore become very difficult to maintain correctly. This talk suggests that a better approach is now possible: markup that is designed to represent different aspects of a text could be handled separately from the point of view of checking and maintenance, and then only combined into a single document when needed, e.g. for some kind of analysis. Advances in comparison and merge tools for XML make this a possibility.
Specifying a TEI-XML Based Format for Aligning Text to Image at Character Level
Authors: Lavrentiev Alexei , Leydier Yann , Stutzmann Dominique
Published: August 2015

This papers presents an experience of specifying and implementing an XML format for text to image alignment at word and character level within the TEI framework. The format in question is a supplementary markup layer applied to heterogeneous transcriptions of medieval Latin and French manuscripts encoded using different “flavors” of the TEI (normalized for critical editions, diplomatic or palaeographic transcriptions). One of the problems that had to be solved was identifying “non-alignable” spans in various kinds of transcriptions. Originally designed in the framework of a research project on the ontology of letter-forms in medieval Latin and vernacular (mostly French) manuscripts and inscriptions, this format can be of use for all kinds of projects that involve fine-grain alignment of transcriptions with zones on digital images.
EAGLE and EUROPEANA
Authors: Liuzzo Pietro Maria
Published: August 2015

EAGLE, The Europeana network for Ancient Greek and Latin Epigraphy, a project co-founded by the European Commission, has as its sole aim to harmonize and aggregate data for Europeana “the trusted source of cultural heritage”. Very easy to say, but no easy task in practice. It is extremely challenging to achieve the trust users have in the original resources with the aggregated content.
Encoding document and text in the Shelley-Godwin Archive
Authors: Viglianti Raffaele
Published: August 2015

The Shelley-Godwin Archive uses TEI to encode manuscript text from two perspectives: one focused on the document and one focused on the text. This short presentation addresses issues of adopting stand-off markup as a technique for the project's encoding goals.
Association of Chemotactic Chemokine Ligand 5 Polymorphisms with the Risk of Developing Severe Enterovirus 71 Infection
Authors: Li Mao-zhong , Pang Li-li , Bai Ai-ying , Yu Shi-cheng , Gong Xun , Liu Na , Cai Kun , Xie Guang-cheng , Gao Wen-juan , Jin Yu , Duan Zhao-jun
Published: August 2015

Respiratory damage is a main manifestation of severe Enterovirus 71 (EV71) infection. Polymorphisms of -403G/A (rs2107538), -28C/G (rs2280788), and In1.1T/C (rs2280789) in chemotactic chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5) have linked with many respiratory diseases. In this study, we explored the possible correlation of CCL5 polymorphisms with severe EV71 infection. Blood samples were obtained from 87 children hospitalized for EV71 infection. Fifty-seven healthy children were enrolled as asymptomatic controls. Genotype and allele frequencies were analyzed by logistic regression analysis. There were statistically significant differences in polymorphisms of CCL5 -403G/A and In1.1T/C for dominant model (P = 0.016; P = 0.027) and additive model (P = 0.010; P = 0.019) between patients with severe EV71 infection and asymptomatic controls. With ordinal logistic regression model analysis, statistically significant differences were found between polymorphisms of CCL5 (-403G/A) (P = 0.034) with the severity of EV71 infection after adjusting for age. The frequency of A-C-C haplotype was significantly higher in EV71 infection patients than controls (P = 0.032). These results suggest that CCL5 -403G/A and In1.1T/C polymorphisms may contribute to severe EV71 infection and individuals with haplotype of A-C-C may exhibit higher risk of developing severe EV71 infection. These findings may provide insights into pathogenic and protective mechanisms of severe EV71 infection.
Border Lookout: Enhancing Tuberculosis Control on the United States–Mexico Border
Authors: DeSisto Carla , Broussard Kelly , Escobedo Miguel , Borntrager Denise , Alvarado-Ramy Francisco , Waterman Stephen
Published: August 2015

We evaluated the use of federal public health intervention tools known as the Do Not Board and Border Lookout (BL) for detecting and referring infectious or potentially infectious land border travelers with tuberculosis (TB) back to treatment. We used data about the issuance of BL from April 2007 to September 2013 to examine demographics and TB laboratory results for persons on the list (N = 66) and time on the list before being located and achieving noninfectious status. The majority of case-patients were Hispanic and male, with a median age of 39 years. Most were citizens of the United States or Mexico, and 30.3% were undocumented migrants. One-fifth had multidrug-resistant TB. Nearly two-thirds of case-patients were located and treated as a result of being placed on the list. However, 25.8% of case-patients, primarily undocumented migrants, remain lost to follow-up and remain on the list. For this highly mobile patient population, the use of this novel federal travel intervention tool facilitated the detection and treatment of infectious TB cases that were lost to follow-up.
Pinta: Latin America's Forgotten Disease?
Authors: Stamm Lola V.
Published: August 2015

Pinta is a neglected, chronic skin disease that was first described in the sixteenth century in Mexico. The World Health Organization lists 15 countries in Latin America where pinta was previously endemic. However, the current prevalence of pinta is unknown due to the lack of surveillance data. The etiological agent of pinta, Treponema carateum, cannot be distinguished morphologically or serologically from the not-yet-cultivable Treponema pallidum subspecies that cause venereal syphilis, yaws, and bejel. Although genomic sequencing has enabled the development of molecular techniques to differentiate the T. pallidum subspecies, comparable information is not available for T. carateum. Because of the influx of migrants and refugees from Latin America, U.S. physicians should consider pinta in the differential diagnosis of skin diseases in children and adolescents who come from areas where pinta was previously endemic and have a positive reaction in serological tests for syphilis. All stages of pinta are treatable with a single intramuscular injection of penicillin.
Neighborhood Attributes Associated With the Social Environment
Authors: Child Stephanie T. , Schoffman Danielle E. , Kaczynski Andrew T. , Forthofer Melinda , Wilcox Sara , Baruth Meghan
Published: August 2015

Purpose.

To examine the association between specific attributes of neighborhood environments and four social environment measures.

Design.

Data were collected as part of a baseline survey among participants enrolling in a walking intervention.

Setting.

Participants were recruited from a metropolitan area in a Southeastern state.

Subjects.

Participants (n = 294) were predominantly African-American (67%) and female (86%), with some college education (79%) and a mean age of 49.

Measures.

The International Physical Activity Questionnaire Environment Module assessed perceptions about neighborhood attributes. The social environment was assessed using three distinct scales: social cohesion, social interactions with neighbors, and social support for physical activity from family and friends.

Analysis.

Multiple regression models examined associations between neighborhood attributes and social environment measures, adjusting for demographic variables.

Results.

Having walkable destinations and having access to amenities and transit stops were associated with increased interactions with neighbors (b = 1.32, 1.04, and 1.68, respectively, p < .05). Attributes related to structural support for physical activity (sidewalks, street connectivity, recreation facilities) were associated with increased interactions with neighbors (b = 1.47, 1.34, and 1.13, respectively, p < .05). Bicycling facilities that were maintained (i.e., bike lanes, racks) were associated with social support for physical activity from family and friends (b = .43 and .30, respectively, p < .05).

Conclusion.

The study highlights key attributes of neighborhood environments that may be associated with the social context of such settings.
Early Childhood Disadvantage for Sons of Mexican Immigrants
Authors: Lawrence Elizabeth , Mollborn Stefanie , Riosmena Fernando
Published: August 2015

Purpose.

To distinguish the origins of higher weight status and determine when and why intra- and interracial/ethnic disparities emerge.

Design.

The study used a longitudinal analysis of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort (ECLS-B).

Setting.

The study was conducted in the United States.

Subjects.

Participants were children of non-Hispanic white mothers and children of U.S.- and foreign-born mothers of Mexican origin from a nationally representative sample of children born in the year 2001 (N ≈ 3700).

Measures.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts determined sex- and age-specific weight status. Covariates were obtained from birth certificate records and parent interviews.

Analysis.

Frequencies, growth curve trajectories, and ordinary least squares regression examined body mass index (BMI) and obesity across survey waves.

Results.

Compared to their peers with non-Hispanic white mothers, children of Mexican-heritage mothers have higher average BMI and greater rates of obesity. The BMI of boys with Mexican-born mothers is higher relative to whites and children of U.S.-born Mexican mothers across early childhood, increasing sharply at about age 4.5 years. This divergence is driven by increases in the BMI of boys, as girls do not show the same growth. A number of measures, including descriptors of children's nutritional intake, lifestyle factors, and acculturation, do not explain the increased obesity rates among sons of Mexican mothers.

Conclusion.

Despite favorable perinatal health and weight, Mexican-American sons of foreign-born mothers show disadvantages in BMI that emerge close to the start of kindergarten.
Healthful Nutrition of Foods in Navajo Nation Stores
Authors: Kumar Gayathri , Jim-Martin Sonlatsa , Piltch Emily , Onufrak Stephen , McNeil Carrie , Adams Laura , Williams Nancy , Blanck Heidi M. , Curley Larry
Published: August 2015

Purpose.

Low availability and affordability of healthier foods in food stores on the Navajo Nation (NN) may be a community-level risk factor for the high prevalence of obesity among the Navajo people. This study assessed the availability and pricing of foods and beverages in supermarkets and convenience stores throughout the NN.

Design.

Descriptive study design using the Nutrition Environment Measurement Survey in Stores audit tool.

Setting.

Supermarkets (n = 13) and convenience stores (n = 50) on NN and border-town supermarkets (n = 9).

Subjects.

Not applicable.

Measures.

Availability and pricing of healthy and less-healthy foods.

Analysis.

Descriptive and χ2 analyses.

Results.

Navajo convenience stores offered fewer healthier food options compared to Navajo supermarkets. In Navajo convenience stores, 100% whole grain products, reduced-fat cheese, lean meats, reduced-fat chips, and fat-free or light hot dogs were available in fewer stores than their corresponding less-healthy versions (all with p < .05). In both Navajo supermarkets and convenience stores, 100% whole wheat bread, lean cold cuts, and reduced-fat cheese were all more expensive per unit than their corresponding less-healthy versions (all with p < .05).

Conclusions.

According to this study, healthier foods are not as readily available in Navajo convenience stores as they are in Navajo supermarkets. Improving access to and affordability of healthier foods in reservation stores of all sizes may support healthy eating among Navajo residents.
Creating a Common Data Model for Comparative Effectiveness with the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership
Authors: Resnic F.S. , Robbins S.L. , Denton J. , Nookala L. , Meeker D. , Ohno-Machado L. , Matheny M.E. , FitzHenry F.
Published: August 2015

Background: Adoption of a common data model across health systems is a key infrastructure requirement to allow large scale distributed comparative effectiveness analyses. There are a growing number of common data models (CDM), such as Mini-Sentinel, and the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) CDMs.

Objective: In this case study, we describe the challenges and opportunities of a study specific use of the OMOP CDM by two health systems and describe three comparative effectiveness use cases developed from the CDM.

Methods: The project transformed two health system databases (using crosswalks provided) into the OMOP CDM. Cohorts were developed from the transformed CDMs for three comparative effectiveness use case examples. Administrative/billing, demographic, order history, medication, and laboratory were included in the CDM transformation and cohort development rules.

Results: Record counts per person month are presented for the eligible cohorts, highlighting differences between the civilian and federal datasets, e.g. the federal data set had more outpatient visits per person month (6.44 vs. 2.05 per person month). The count of medications per person month reflected the fact that one system‘s medications were extracted from orders while the other system had pharmacy fills and medication administration records. The federal system also had a higher prevalence of the conditions in all three use cases. Both systems required manual coding of some types of data to convert to the CDM.

Conclusion: The data transformation to the CDM was time consuming and resources required were substantial, beyond requirements for collecting native source data. The need to manually code subsets of data limited the conversion. However, once the native data was converted to the CDM, both systems were then able to use the same queries to identify cohorts. Thus, the CDM minimized the effort to develop cohorts and analyze the results across the sites.

FitzHenry F, Resnic FS, Robbins SL, Denton J, Nookala L, Meeker D, Ohno-Machado L, Matheny ME. A Case Report on Creating a Common Data Model for Comparative Effectiveness with the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership. Appl Clin Inform 2015; 6: 536–547

http://dx.doi.org/10.4338/ACI-2014-12-CR-0121
Observation of a tidal effect on the Polar Jet Stream
Authors: Best C. H. , Madrigali R.
Published: August 2015

Abstract. Variations in the Polar Jet Stream directly affect weather across Europe and North America (Francis et al., 2012). Jet Stream dynamics are governed by the development of planetary Rossby waves (Dickinson, 1978) driven by variation of the Coriolis force with latitude. Here we show that increasing atmospheric tides induce the development of Rossby waves, especially during winter months. This changes the flow and direction of the Jet Stream, as measured by the Arctic Oscillation (AO). Although horizontal tidal forces are tiny (107 smaller than gravity), they act over huge areas dragging the Jet Stream flow southwards in regular pulses as the earth rotates. This induces a changing Coriolis torque, which then distorts the Jet Stream flow. The data from eight recent winters are studied indicating that the AO is anti-correlated to the horizontal "tractional" component of tides acting between latitude 45 and 60° N. The observed 28 day cycle in Jet Stream flow and extent has a statistical significance > 99 %. A cross-correlation between all daily AO data since 1950 and the tractional tidal strength shows a significant anti-correlation with a lag time of ~ 5 days. The strongest correlation and largest excursions of the AO are observed during winter 2005/2006 – a maximum lunar standstill year. This declination dependence of tidal forces at high latitudes is the proposed cause of many previous reports of an 18.6 year dependence of continental rainfall and drought.
Performance assessment of a triple-frequency spaceborne cloud–precipitation radar concept using a global cloud-resolving model
Authors: Leinonen J. , Lebsock M. D. , Tanelli S. , Suzuki K. , Yashiro H. , Miyamoto Y.
Published: August 2015

Abstract. Multi-frequency radars offer enhanced detection of clouds and precipitation compared to single-frequency systems, and are able to make more accurate retrievals when several frequencies are available simultaneously. An evaluation of a spaceborne three-frequency Ku-/Ka-/W-band radar system is presented in this study, based on modeling radar reflectivities from the results of a global cloud-resolving model with a 875 m grid spacing. To produce the reflectivities, a scattering model has been developed for each of the hydrometeor types produced by the model, as well as for melting snow. The effects of attenuation and multiple scattering on the radar signal are modeled using a radiative transfer model, while nonuniform beam filling is reproduced with spatial averaging. The combined effects of these are then quantified both globally and in six localized case studies. Two different orbital scenarios using the same radar are compared. Overall, based on the results, it is expected that the proposed radar would detect a high-quality signal in most clouds and precipitation. The main exceptions are the thinnest clouds that are below the detection threshold of the W-band channel, and at the opposite end of the scale, heavy convective rainfall where a combination of attenuation, multiple scattering and nonuniform beam filling commonly cause significant deterioration of the signal; thus, while the latter can be generally detected, the quality of the retrievals is likely to be degraded.
Spatial distribution and sources of organic carbon in the surface sediment of the Bosten Lake, China
Authors: Yu Z. T. , Wang X. J. , Zhang E. L. , Zhao C. Y. , Lan H. Y.
Published: August 2015

Abstract. Lake sediment is an important carbon reservoir. However, little is known on the dynamics and sources of sediment organic carbon in the Bosten Lake. We collected 13 surface (0–2 cm) sediment samples in the Bosten Lake and analyzed total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), stable carbon isotopic composition in TOC (δ13Corg) and grain size. We found a large spatial variability in TOC content (1.8–4.4 %) and δ13Corg value (−26.77 to −23.98 ‰). Using a three end member mixing model with measured TOC : TN ratio and δ13Corg, we estimated that 54–90 % of TOC was from autochthonous sources. Higher TOC content (> 3.7 %) was found in the east and central-north sections and near the mouth of the Kaidu River, which was attributable to allochthonous, autochthonous plus allochthonous, and autochthonous sources, respectively. The lowest TOC content was found in the mid-west section, which might be a result of high kinetic energy levels. Our study indicated that the spatial distribution of sediment TOC in the Bosten Lake was influenced by multiple and complex processes.
Evaluating sensitivity of silicate mineral dissolution rates to physical weathering using a soil evolution model (SoilGen2.25)
Authors: Opolot E. , Finke P. A.
Published: August 2015

Abstract. Silicate mineral dissolution rates depend on the interaction of a number of factors categorized either as intrinsic (e.g. mineral surface area, mineral composition) or extrinsic (e.g. climate, hydrology, biological factors, physical weathering). Estimating the integrated effect of these factors on the silicate mineral dissolution rates therefore necessitates the use of fully mechanistic soil evolution models. This study applies a mechanistic soil evolution model (SoilGen) to explore the sensitivity of silicate mineral dissolution rates to the integrated effect of other soil forming processes and factors. The SoilGen soil evolution model is a 1-D model developed to simulate the time-depth evolution of soil properties as a function of various soil forming processes (e.g. water, heat and solute transport, chemical and physical weathering, clay migration, nutrient cycling and bioturbation) driven by soil forming factors (i.e., climate, organisms, relief, parent material). Results from this study show that although soil solution chemistry (pH) plays a dominant role in determining the silicate mineral dissolution rates, all processes that directly or indirectly influence the soil solution composition equally play an important role in driving silicate mineral dissolution rates. Model results demonstrated a decrease of silicate mineral dissolution rates with time, an obvious effect of texture and an indirect but substantial effect of physical weathering on silicate mineral dissolution rates. Results further indicated that clay migration and plant nutrient recycling processes influence the pH and thus the silicate mineral dissolution rates. Our silicate mineral dissolution rates results fall between field and laboratory rates but were rather high and more close to the laboratory rates owing to the assumption of far from equilibrium reaction used in our dissolution rate mechanism. There is therefore need to include secondary mineral precipitation mechanism in our formulation. In addition, there is need for a more detailed study that is specific to field sites with detailed measurements of silicate mineral dissolution rates, climate, hydrology and mineralogy to enable the calibration and validation of the model. Nevertheless, this study is another important step to demonstrate the critical need to couple different soil forming processes with chemical weathering in order to explain differences observed between laboratory and field measured silicate mineral dissolution rates.
A regional climate palaeosimulation for Europe in the period 1500–1990 – Part 2: Shortcomings and strengths of models and reconstructions
Authors: Gómez-Navarro J. J. , Bothe O. , Wagner S. , Zorita E. , Werner J. P. , Luterbacher J. , Raible C. C. , Montávez J. P
Published: August 2015

Abstract. This study compares gridded European seasonal series of surface air temperature (SAT) and precipitation (PRE) reconstructions with a regional climate simulation over the period 1500–1990. The area is analysed separately for nine subareas that represent the majority of the climate diversity in the European sector. In their spatial structure, an overall good agreement is found between the reconstructed and simulated climate features across Europe, supporting consistency in both products. Systematic biases between both data sets can be explained by a priori known deficiencies in the simulation. Simulations and reconstructions, however, largely differ in the temporal evolution of past climate for European subregions. In particular, the simulated anomalies during the Maunder and Dalton minima show stronger response to changes in the external forcings than recorded in the reconstructions. Although this disagreement is to some extent expected given the prominent role of internal variability in the evolution of regional temperature and precipitation, a certain degree of agreement is a priori expected in variables directly affected by external forcings. In this sense, the inability of the model to reproduce a warm period similar to that recorded for the winters during the first decades of the 18th century in the reconstructions is indicative of fundamental limitations in the simulation that preclude reproducing exceptionally anomalous conditions. Despite these limitations, the simulated climate is a physically consistent data set, which can be used as a benchmark to analyse the consistency and limitations of gridded reconstructions of different variables. A comparison of the leading modes of SAT and PRE variability indicates that reconstructions are too simplistic, especially for precipitation, which is associated with the linear statistical techniques used to generate the reconstructions. The analysis of the co-variability between sea level pressure (SLP) and SAT and PRE in the simulation yields a result which resembles the canonical co-variability recorded in the observations for the 20th century. However, the same analysis for reconstructions exhibits anomalously low correlations, which points towards a lack of dynamical consistency between independent reconstructions.