bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Semantic Role Labeling Approach for Evaluation of Text Coherence
Authors: Haggag Mohamed H.
Published: February 2014

Detection of semantic roles associated with linguistic elements is important to the textual classification of communicative context into specific identities. In this paper, a new model for semantically identifying sentences is presented through contextual patterns. The proposed contextual pattern originated its structure from a labeling process of the semantic roles provided by constituents of a sentence within a semantic frame. Semantic roles of the pattern elements are properly identified through word sense disambiguation and accordingly the entire patterns sense is evaluated. Such semantic identification of text sentences is a generic semantic role labeling approach that could support many computational linguistic applications. A utilization of the proposed semantic labeling approach is introduced in the paper through a novel algorithm for text coherence evaluation. Coherence evaluation is provided by a matching task to individual semantic patterns and their relations to each other as well as patterns organization within the text segments. Results proved good capability of the modelling of contextual pattern, addressing semantic roles, to accurately evaluate text coherence. It has been shown that both contextual patterns labeling and coherence evaluation algorithm proposed here are generic, topic free and semantically arbitrated by the global concept within context.
A Renewed University Governance
Authors: Ciasullo Maria Vincenza , Monetta Giulia
Published: February 2014

During recent years radical changes have affected universities in most Western European countries, implying new pressures and demands on higher education systems and deeply influencing the context in which universities operate. The paper attempts to investigate governance issues and the need for new strategic paths emerging as a result of changed scenarios. Specifically, the greater number of stakeholders involved in academic activities requires universities to take into account a variety of social, economic and cultural factors when making strategic decisions. Adjustments in board composition through appointing non-academic members are signals of such trends. Moving from this consideration and relying on data on the governance structures of Italian universities, the paper discusses challenges for academic institutions in terms of change in their strategic management and governance structures as well as the likely directions such change is taking.
Theory versus Application
Authors: Cua Francisco Chia , Reames Steve
Published: February 2014

This paper discusses the critical use and lessons learned from the single case model while implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system at a leading university. The researcher examined one university’s business ERP in the deployment of a new enterprise system, a complex phenomenon which took place over several stages and involved different players at each stage. The paper discusses the case system inclusive of the grounded case theory, diffusion of innovation theory, innovation-process theory and their application during the ERP system implementation.
Minimizing the Risk of Shortfall in Cash Flow for Long-Term Service Agreements Provision
Authors: Gupta Aparna , Lawsirirat Chaipat
Published: February 2014

Long-term service agreements (LTSAs) for the maintenance of capital-intensive equipments like gas turbines, medical equipments, aircraft and locomotive engines, are gaining popularity. A typical LTSA contract, spanning 5-20 years, makes a provider responsible for fully maintaining the equipments. Effective management of LTSAs, using reliability assessment and maintenance strategy, is important since these equipments are vital to basic infrastructure and the economy of a country. Even if a provider utilizes optimal maintenance and operations management strategies, residual financial risks of cash flow shortfalls remain. In this article, a framework for LTSAs risk management is developed to construct hedging strategies that minimize cash flow shortfall risk, while maximizing profit through the life of a contract. Optimal investment decisions for a set of securities are determined to construct the hedging strategies. Using the framework, a combined risk-return objective of the provider is significantly improved by the optimal hedging strategy.
A Performance Analysis of Semantic Caching for XML Query Processing
Authors: Novikov Boris , Pigul Alice , Yarygina Anna
Published: February 2014

Caching is important for any system attempting to achieve high performance. The semantic caching is an approach trying to benefit from the certain knowledge of data semantics. The authors expect that this information might enable reuse of semantically close data rather than exactly equal to cached data in the traditional system. However, the major obstacle for extensive application of semantic caching for any data model or query language is the computational complexity of the query containment problem, which is, in general, undecidable. In this article the authors introduce and compare three approximate conservative query matching algorithms for semantic caching of semi-structured queries. The authors then analyze their applicability for distributed query processing. Based on this analysis, the authors outline few scenarios where semantic caching can be beneficial for query processing in a distributed system of heterogeneous semi-structured information resources.
On Estimating the Maximum Domination Value and the Skyline Cardinality of Multi-Dimensional Data Sets
Authors: Tiakas Eleftherios , Papadopoulos Apostolos N. , Manolopoulos Yannis
Published: February 2014

The last years there is an increasing interest for query processing techniques that take into consideration the dominance relationship between items to select the most promising ones, based on user preferences. Skyline and top-k dominating queries are examples of such techniques. A skyline query computes the items that are not dominated, whereas a top-k dominating query returns the k items with the highest domination score. To enable query optimization, it is important to estimate the expected number of skyline items as well as the maximum domination value of an item. In this article, the authors provide an estimation for the maximum domination value under the dinstinct values and attribute independence assumptions. The authors provide three different methodologies for estimating and calculating the maximum domination value and the authors test their performance and accuracy. Among the proposed estimation methods, their method Estimation with Roots outperforms all others and returns the most accurate results. They also introduce the eliminating dimension, i.e., the dimension beyond which all domination values become zero, and the authors provide an efficient estimation of that dimension. Moreover, the authors provide an accurate estimation of the skyline cardinality of a data set.
Clustering with Proximity Graphs
Authors: Kazimianec Michail , Augsten Nikolaus
Published: February 2014

Graph Proximity Cleansing (GPC) is a string clustering algorithm that automatically detects cluster borders and has been successfully used for string cleansing. For each potential cluster a so-called proximity graph is computed, and the cluster border is detected based on the proximity graph. However, the computation of the proximity graph is expensive and the state-of-the-art GPC algorithms only approximate the proximity graph using a sampling technique. Further, the quality of GPC clusters has never been compared to standard clustering techniques like k-means, density-based, or hierarchical clustering. In this article the authors propose two efficient algorithms, PG-DS and PG-SM, for the exact computation of proximity graphs. The authors experimentally show that our solutions are faster even if the sampling-based algorithms use very small sample sizes. The authors provide a thorough experimental evaluation of GPC and conclude that it is very efficient and shows good clustering quality in comparison to the standard techniques. These results open a new perspective on string clustering in settings, where no knowledge about the input data is available.
Prioritizing Disease Genes and Understanding Disease Pathways
Authors: Zhao Xiaoyue , Iakoucheva Lilia M. , Zhang Michael Q.
Published: February 2014

Genetic factors play a major role in the etiology of many human diseases. Genome-wide experimental methods produce an increasing number of genes associated with such diseases. This article introduces data sources, bioinformatics tools, and computational methods for prioritizing disease candidate genes and identifying disease pathways. The main strategy is to examine the similarity among the candidate genes and known disease genes at the functional level. The authors review different similarity measures and prevailing methods for integrating results from different functional aspects. The authors hope this article will help advocate many useful resources that the researchers can use to investigate diseases of their interest.
Predicting Protein Functions from Protein Interaction Networks
Authors: Chua Hon Nian , Wong Limsoon
Published: February 2014

Functional characterization of genes and their protein products is essential to biological and clinical research. Yet, there is still no reliable way of assigning functional annotations to proteins in a high-throughput manner. In this article, the authors provide an introduction to the task of automated protein function prediction. They discuss about the motivation for automated protein function prediction, the challenges faced in this task, as well as some approaches that are currently available. In particular, they take a closer look at methods that use protein-protein interaction for protein function prediction, elaborating on their underlying techniques and assumptions, as well as their strengths and limitations.
Magnet-Based Around Device Interaction for Playful Music Composition and Gaming
Authors: El Ali Abdallah , Ketabdar Hamed
Published: February 2014

Around Device Interaction (ADI) has expanded the interaction space on mobile devices to allow 3D gesture interaction around the device. In this paper, the authors look specifically at magnet-based ADI and its applied use in a playful, music-related context. Using three musical applications developed under the magnet-based ADI paradigm (Air Disc-Jockey, Air Guitar, Air GuitaRhythm), the authors investigate whether the magnet-based ADI paradigm can be effectively used to support playful music composition and gaming on mobile devices. Based on results from a controlled user study (usability and user experience questionnaire responses, users’ direct feedback, and video observations), the authors 1) showed how magnet-based ADI can be effectively used to create natural, playful and creative mobile music interactions amongst both musically-trained and non-musically trained users and 2) distilled magnet-based ADI design considerations to optimize playful and creative music interactions in today’s smartphones.
Legal and Economic Justification for Software Protection
Authors: de Vuyst Bruno , Fairchild Alea
Published: February 2014

This article discusses legal and economic rationale in regards to open source software protection. Software programs are, under TRIPS1, protected by copyright (reference is made to the Berne Convention2). The issue with this protection is that, due to the dichotomy idea/expression that is typical for copyright protection, reverse engineering of software is not excluded, and copyright is hence found to be an insufficient protection. Hence, in the U.S., software makers have increasingly turned to patent protection. In Europe, there is an exclusion of computer programs in Article 52 (2) c) EPC (EPO, 1973), but this exclusion is increasingly narrowed and some call for abandoning the exclusion altogether. A proposal by the European Commission, made in 2002, called for a directive to allow national patent authorities to patent software in a broader way, so as to ensure further against reverse engineering; this proposal, however, was shelved in 2005 over active opposition within and outside the European parliament. In summary, open source software does not fit in any proprietary model; rather, it creates a freedom to operate. Ultimately, there is a need to rethink approaches to property law so as to allow for viable software packaging in both models.
A Perspective on Software Engineering Education with Open Source Software
Authors: Kamthan Pankaj
Published: February 2014

As the development and use of open source software (OSS) becomes prominent, the issue of its outreach in an educational context arises. The practices fundamental to software engineering, including those related to management, process, and workflow deliverables, are examined in light of OSS. Based on a pragmatic framework, the prospects of integrating OSS in a traditional software engineering curriculum are outlined, and concerns in realizing them are given. In doing so, the cases of the adoption of an OSS process model, the use of OSS as a computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tool, OSS as a standalone subsystem, and open source code reuse are considered. The role of openly accessible content in general is discussed briefly.
An Agile Perspective on Open Source Software Engineering
Authors: Sahraoui Sofiane , Al-Nahas Noor , Suleiman Rania
Published: February 2014

Open source software (OSS) development has been a trend parallel to that of agile software development, which is the highly iterative development model following conventional software engineering principles. Striking similarities exist between the two development processes as they seem to follow the same generic phases of software development. Both modes of development have less emphasis on planning and design and a more prominent role for implementation during the software engineering process. This article expounds on this connection by adopting an agile perspective on OSS development to emphasize the similarities and dissimilarities between the two models. An attempt is first made to show how OSS development fits into the generic agile development framework. Then, the article demonstrates how the development process of Mozilla and Apache as two of the most famous OSS projects can be recast within this framework. The similarity discussed and illustrated between agile and OSS development modes is rather limited to the mechanics of the development processes and do not include the philosophies and motivations behind development.
Free Software Philosophy and Open Source
Authors: Vainio Niklas , Vadén Tere
Published: February 2014

This article introduces and explains some of the most relevant features of the free software philosophy formulated by Richard M. Stallman in the 1980s. The free software philosophy and the free software movement built on it historically preceded the open source movement by a decade and provided some of the key technological, legal and ideological foundations of the open source movement. Thus, in order to study the ideology of open source and its differences with regard to other modes of software production, it is important to understand the reasoning and the presuppositions included in Stallman’s free software philosophy.
Construction of a Topic Database for Remote Conversation Support
Authors: Homan Toru , Morita Masaya , Yamaguchi Yu , Kuwabara Kazuhiro
Published: February 2014

This paper describes a topic database for conversation support for people with cognitive handicaps such as aphasia. The authors implemented a topic database based on word lists developed for people with aphasia as an RDF database to exploit the conceptual relationships among words and extended it to include web resources a user needs. To allow database personalization, the authors introduce an access control mechanism and incorporate the topic database into a chat system for remote conversation support over the Internet.
Nature That Breeds Solutions
Authors: Chiong Raymond , Neri Ferrante , McKay R. I.
Published: February 2014

Nature has always been a source of inspiration. Over the last few decades, it has stimulated many successful techniques, algorithms and computational applications for dealing with large, complex and dynamic real world problems. In this article, the authors discuss why nature-inspired solutions have become increasingly important and favourable for tackling the conventionally-hard problems. They also present the concepts and background of some selected examples from the domain of natural computing, and describe their key applications in business, science and engineering. Finally, the future trends are highlighted to provide a vision for the potential growth of this field.
From the Real Ant to the Artificial Ant
Authors: Diaf Moussa , Hammouche Kamal , Siarry Patrick
Published: February 2014

Biological studies highlighting the collective behavior of ants in fulfilling various tasks by using their complex indirect communication process have constituted the starting point for many physical systems and various ant colony algorithms. Each ant colony is considered as a superorganism which operates as a unified entity made up of simple agents. These agents (ants) interact locally with one another and with their environment, particularly in finding the shortest path from the nest to food sources without any centralized control dictating the behavior of individual agents. It is this coordination mechanism that has inspired researchers to develop plenty of metaheuristic algorithms in order to find good solutions for NP-hard combinatorial optimization problems. In this article, the authors give a biological description of these fascinating insects and their complex indirect communication process. From this rich source of inspiration for researchers, the authors show how, through the real ant, artificial ant is modeled and applied in combinatorial optimization, data clustering, collective robotics, and image processing.
Biological Traits in Artificial Self-Reproducing Systems
Authors: Bilotta Eleonora , Pantano Pietro
Published: February 2014

This article presents an artificial taxonomy of 2-D, self-replicating cellular automata (CA) that can be considered as proto-organisms for structure replication. The authors found that the process of self-reproduction is a widespread mechanism. In fact, self-reproducers in 2-D CA are very common and the authors discovered almost 10 methods of self-replication. The structures these systems produce, from ordered to complex ones, are very similar to those found in biological endeavor. After examining self-replicating structures and the way they reproduce, the authors consider their behavior in relation to the patterns they realize and to the function they manifest in realizing artificial organisms. According to the authors, many methods produced by CA are based on universal models of biological cell development. The relevance of such work consists in the goal of modeling the evolution of living systems that can lead us to a better understanding of the essential properties of life.
Using the Kalman Filter for Auto Bit-rate H.264 Streaming Based on Human Interaction
Authors: Lee Wei-Tsong , Wu Tin-Yu , Cheng Yu-Chieh , Chuang Yue-Ru , Sheu Shiann-Tsong
Published: February 2014

Human Machine Interface (HMI) and interactive systems applications are complex and diversified but human machine interaction in networks is even more complex. To design an interactive system, the designers must consider factors including design, technologies, people, activities and contexts. As the intermediary for human and machines, the interactive system takes charge of not only data transmission, display, storage and convertion, but also reactions to human behaviors. Based on human interaction, this paper focuses on the popular video streaming. As one of the most commonly used compression video formats, H.264 provides better quality at lower bit-rates than its previous standards in transmitting video/audio data. However, the quality of networked multimedia streaming easily fluctuates with the bit-rate variation. In order to maintain good video quality, this paper proposes to use the Kalman filter to implement the Auto bit-rate technique, which can regulate the bit-rate of the video/audio data automatically when the bit-rate is insufficient, and simultaneously guarantee the video quality. The experimental result proves that our proposed Auto bit-rate scheme can regulate the bit-rate to achieve the optimal visual quality and offer the best quality of service at the same time.
Markov Chain Models for Menu Item Prediction
Authors: Lin Tao , Xie Tian-Tian , Mou Yi , Tang Ning-Jiu
Published: February 2014

With the increase in the number of menu items and the menu structure complexity, users have to spend more time in locating menu items when using menu-based interfaces, which tends to result in the decrease of task performance and the increase of mental load. How to reduce the navigation time has been a great challenge in the HCI (human-computer interaction) field. Recently, adaptive menu techniques have been explored in response to the challenge, and menu item prediction plays a crucial role in the techniques. Unfortunately, there still lacks effective prediction models for menu items. This paper explores the potential of three prediction models (i.e., Absolute Distribution Markov Chain, Probability Summation Markov Chain and Weighted Markov Chain based on Genetic Algorithm) in predicting the most possible N (Top-N) menu items based on the users’ historical menu item clicks. And the results show that Weighted Markov Chain based on Genetic Algorithm can obtain the highest prediction accuracy and significantly decrease navigation time by 22.6% when N equals 4 as compared to the static counterpart.
Flexitarianism (Flexible or Part-Time Vegetarianism)
Authors: Raphaely Talia , Marinova Dora , Crisp George , Panayotov Jordan
Published: February 2014

Many think that eating meat is nutritionally necessary and beneficial. Industrialising livestock production provides meat that is often “cheaper” than fruit and vegetables. In reality, this has come at a cost for human, animal and ecological welfare. Western mainstream meat consumption is a leading cause of increasing ill-health, diabetes, cancers, non-communicable and chronic diseases, malnourishment, obesity, antibiotic resistance, spread of infectious diseases, hunger and possible global epidemics as well as climate change, biodiversity loss, water and land degradation. Rather than stop this, vested interests continue to promote meat consumption. If people are deliberately misinformed or have no access to reliable information, what chance do they have to make the right food choices? This paper outlines flexitarianism (flexible vegetarianism) as a personal user-driven opportunity to combat the geopolitical and industrial duplicity about meat. Consumers should have enough information about the implications of their nutritional choices. In addition to health benefits, flexitarianism can help mitigate climate change, environmental and social destruction and reduce animal suffering. The proposed information policy interventions are assessed against their impact on key stakeholders and overall value for public health and environmental wellbeing. They offer an opportunity to reclaim personal health and improve the health of the planet.
Illness Narratives
Authors: Joshi Pragya Pandey , Joshi Ankur , Kale Saket , Meena Jeewan Singh , Kale Nivedita
Published: February 2014

An illness narrative is constructed when a person engages with both internal dialogues with himself and in interactions with the others during their journey; these can be transformed into dramatic script for social and self –beneficence. This paper explores whether process-centered creative drama could be the optimum modality for this dramatization. It also suggests that this process can be captured to assist the ill person, their care-givers, and others in understanding the dynamic process of illness.
Visual Communication to Improve Relationship Quality in Spousal Caregivers of Individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Freeman Nola
Published: February 2014

The study investigated the effectiveness of an art therapy intervention in improving relationship quality of spousal caregivers and their spouses with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Two single case studies were conducted, each composed of a caregiver and spouse with AD. Intervention consisted of three art therapy sessions based on visual communication, or the mutual creation of artwork. Relationship quality was measured throughout the study using clinical notes, pretest and posttest, and caregiver daily reports of positive interactions with their spouse. Couple dynamics were found to influence how positively each art therapy directive was viewed; however, both caregivers noted valuing art therapy interventions for providing recreation and socialization. The intervention resulted in increased positive interactions in both case studies.
Determining the origins of particulates on Arkaroo Rock art
Authors: Colyer Kate , Quinton Jamie S. , Pring Allan , Popelka-Filcoff Rachel S. , Lenehan Claire E.
Published: February 2014

Arkaroo Rock, an important Aboriginal art site located in the Flinders Ranges National Park, South Australia, features a range of artworks created using red and yellow ochre along with white minerals (such as kaolinite, and gypsum) and charcoal. The site is widely promoted to tourists and, during peak season, attracts more than fifty visitors each day. In mid 2007, the local indigenous community noted that the art was covered with a dust-like substance, the nature of which was unknown. It was hypothesised that the substance was the result of local soil adhering to the surface of the artwork with the morning dew. In order to preserve the site, cleaning and conservation work began in early 2008. This study presents an investigation into the source of the particulate matter covering the artworks. Prior to the conservation work commencing, samples were collected from various locations on the rock, within the protective fence surrounding the artwork, and the surrounding soil. Plant samples were also collected proximal to the artwork. A number of techniques were used to characterise and identify the origin of the particulate material from the rock surface. These techniques included optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), colour analysis based on the ES-1000 EFI spectrophotometer (UV-Vis), and subsequent multivariate statistical analysis. Results of this study are presented here, including detailed results obtained from an emerging colour-based ES-1000 EFI spectrophotometer method along with TGA, optical microscopy and XRD. Results confirm the presence of morning dew in surface samples, and eliminate local sources as the origin of the particulate matter.
The impact of diabetes insurance mandates on infant health
Authors: Grecu Anca M. , Spector Lee C.
Published: February 2014

Among the factors thought to contribute to lagging improvements in infant health in recent years are increasing obesity and diabetes prevalence among women of childbearing age. This article uses a difference‐in‐difference‐in‐difference empirical strategy to investigate the impact of mandated insurance coverage for diabetes on adverse pregnancy outcomes. Among educated women, who have high rates of coverage through private insurance that is subject to insurance mandates, diabetes mandates are associated with a reduction in low birth weight and premature birth prevalence. These gains are concentrated among older women and are larger for African‐Americans. There is a weaker effect on the prevalence of high birth weight, potentially because of the deleterious effects of an increased probability of pregnancy weight gain in excess of 35 pounds among diabetic women in states with mandates.
Short‐run marginal medical costs from booze and butts: Evidence from the states
Authors: Bates Laurie J. , Cesur Resul , Santerre Rexford E.
Published: February 2014

This article uses a panel data set of U.S. states over the 1980 to 2007 period to estimate the demands for medical care, cigarettes, and beer. The estimation process generates own‐price, income, and cross‐price elasticities for all three goods. Implied per capita beer and cigarette consumption elasticities of per capita health care expenditures, suggested by our baseline estimates, are 0.83 and 0.14, respectively. These results are robust to a number of specification tests. Simulations suggest that yearly marginal medical costs amount to approximately $12 per bottle and 27 cents per cigarette in the short run (in 2012 dollars). These results are likely to be driven by the much larger corresponding increases in the consumption of binge drinkers and heavy smokers.

Bank of bad habits

The price of vice foretold

One by one they'll do you in

They're bound to take their toll

The wrong thing is the right thing until you lose control

I've got this bank of bad habits

It's worth its weight in gold
Carrots That Look Like Sticks: Toward an Understanding of Multitasking Incentive Schemes
Authors: Al‐Ubaydli Omar , Andersen Steffen , Gneezy Uri , List John A.
Published: February 2014

Constructing compensation schemes for effort in multidimensional tasks is complex, particularly when some dimensions are not easily observable. When incentive schemes contractually reward workers for easily observed measures, such as quantity produced, the standard model predicts that unrewarded dimensions, such as quality, will be neglected. Yet, there remains mixed empirical evidence in favor of this standard principal‐agent model prediction. This article reconciles the literature using both theory and empirical evidence. The theory outlines conditions under which principals can use a piece rate scheme to induce higher quantity and quality levels than analogous fixed wage schemes. Making use of a series of complementary laboratory and field experiments we show that this effect occurs because the agent is uncertain about the principal's monitoring ability and the principal's choice of a piece rate signals to the agent that she is efficient at monitoring.
CAH to CAH
Authors: Sievert M. C. , Hicks L. L. , Alexander G. L. , Hearne L. B. , Holmes J. H. , Craven C. K.
Published: February 2014

The US government allocated $30 billion to implement electronic health records (EHRs) in hospitals and provider practices through policy addressing Meaningful Use (MU). Most small, rural hospitals, particularly those designated as Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), comprising nearly a quarter of US hospitals, had not implemented EHRs before. Little is known about implementation in this setting. Socio-technical factors differ between larger hospitals and CAHs, which continue to lag behind other hospitals in EHR adoption.

Objectives: The main objective is to provide EHR implementation advice for CAHs from a spectrum of experts with an emphasis on recommendations from their peers at CAHs that have undertaken the process. The secondary objective is to begin to identify implementation process differences at CAHs v. larger hospitals.

Methods: We interviewed 41 experts, including 16 CAH staff members from EHR teams at 10 CAHs that recently implemented EHRs. We qualitatively analyzed the interviews to ascertain themes and implementation recommendations.

Results: Nineteen themes emerged. Under each theme, comments by experts provide in-depth advice on all implementation stages including ongoing optimization and use. We present comments for three top themes as ranked by number of CAH peer experts commenting – EHR System Selection, EHR Team, and Preparatory Work – and for two others, Outside Partners/Resources and Clinical Decision Support (CDS)/Knowledge Management (KM). Comments for remaining themes are included in tables.

Discussion: CAH experts rank the themes differently from all experts, a likely indication of the differences between hospitals. Comments for each theme indicate the specific difficulties CAHs encountered. CAH staffs have little or no EHR experience before implementation. A factor across themes is insufficient system and process knowledge, compounded by compressed implementation schedules. Increased, proactive self-education, via available outside partners and information resources, will mitigate difficulties and aid CAHs in meeting increased CDS requirements in MU Stages 2 and 3.

Citation: Craven CK, Sievert MC, Hicks LL, Alexander GL, Hearne LB, Holmes JH. CAH to CAH: EHR Implementation Advice to Critical Access Hospitals from Peer Experts and Other Key Informants. Appl Clin Inf 2014; 5: 92–117 http://dx.doi.org/10.4338/ACI-2013-08-RA-0066
Technical Note: A simple procedure for removing temporal discontinuities in ERA-Interim upper stratospheric temperatures for use in nudged chemistry-climate model simulations
Authors: McLandress C. , Plummer D. A. , Shepherd T. G.
Published: February 2014

Abstract. This note describes a simple procedure for removing unphysical temporal discontinuities in ERA-Interim upper stratospheric global mean temperatures in March 1985 and August 1998 that have arisen due to changes in satellite radiance data used in the assimilation. The derived temperature adjustments (offsets) are suitable for use in stratosphere-resolving chemistry-climate models that are nudged (relaxed) to ERA-Interim winds and temperatures. Simulations using a nudged version of the Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model (CMAM) show that the inclusion of the temperature adjustments produces temperature time series that are devoid of the large jumps in 1985 and 1998. Due to its strong temperature dependence, the simulated upper stratospheric ozone is also shown to vary smoothly in time, unlike in a nudged simulation without the adjustments where abrupt changes in ozone occur at the times of the temperature jumps. While the adjustments to the ERA-Interim temperatures remove significant artefacts in the nudged CMAM simulation, spurious transient effects that arise due to water vapour and persist for about 5 yr after the 1979 switch to ERA-Interim data are identified, underlining the need for caution when analysing trends in runs nudged to reanalyses.
Biases in regional carbon budgets from covariation of surface fluxes and weather in transport model inversions
Authors: Williams I. N. , Riley W. J. , Torn M. S. , Biraud S. C. , Fischer M. L.
Published: February 2014

Abstract. Recent advances in atmospheric transport model inversions could significantly reduce uncertainties in land carbon uptake through the assimilation of CO2 concentration measurements at weekly and shorter timescales. The potential of these measurements for reducing biases in estimated land carbon sinks depends on the strength of covariation between surface fluxes and atmospheric transport at these timescales and how well transport models represent this covariation. Daily to seasonal covariation of surface fluxes and atmospheric transport was estimated in observations at the US Southern Great Plains Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility, and compared to an atmospheric transport model inversion (CarbonTracker). Covariation of transport and surface fluxes was stronger in CarbonTracker than in observations on synoptic (daily to weekly) timescales, with a wet year (2007) having significant covariation compared to a dry year (2006). Differences between observed and CarbonTracker synoptic covariation resulted in a 0.3 ppm CO2 enhancement in boundary layer concentrations during the growing season, and a corresponding enhancement in carbon uptake by 13% of the seasonal cycle amplitude in 2007, as estimated by an offline simplified transport model. This synoptic rectification of surface flux variability was of similar magnitude to the interannual variability in carbon sinks alone, and indicates that interannual variability in the inversions can be affected by biases in simulated synoptic rectifier effects. The most significant covariation of surface fluxes and transport had periodicities of 10 days and greater, suggesting that surface flux inversions would benefit from improved simulations of the effects of soil moisture on boundary layer heights and surface CO2 fluxes. Soil moisture remote sensing could be used along with CO2 concentration measurements to further constrain atmospheric transport model inversions.
Evaluation of the use of five laboratory-determined ozone absorption cross sections in Brewer and Dobson retrieval algorithms
Authors: Redondas A. , Evans R. , Stuebi R. , Köhler U. , Weber M.
Published: February 2014

Abstract. The primary ground-based instruments used to report total column ozone (TOC) are Brewer and Dobson spectrophotometers in separate networks. These instruments make measurements of the UV irradiances, and through a well-defined process, a TOC value is produced. Inherent to the algorithm is the use of a laboratory-determined cross-section data set. We used five ozone cross-section data sets: three data sets that are based on measurements of Bass and Paur; one derived from Daumont, Brion and Malicet (DBM); and a new set determined by Institute of Experimental Physics (IUP), University of Bremen. The three Bass and Paur (1985) sets are as follows: quadratic temperature coefficients from the IGACO (a glossary is provided in Appendix A) web page (IGQ4), the Brewer network operational calibration set (BOp), and the set used by Bernhard et al. (2005) in the reanalysis of the Dobson absorption coefficient values (B05). The ozone absorption coefficients for Brewer and Dobson instruments are then calculated using the normal Brewer operative method, which is essentially the same as that used for Dobson instruments. Considering the standard TOC algorithm for the Brewer instruments and comparing to the Brewer standard operational calibration data set, using the slit functions for the individual instruments, we find the IUP data set changes the calculated TOC by −0.5%, the DBM data set changes the calculated TOC by −3.2%, and the IGQ4 data set at −45 °C changes the calculated TOC by +1.3%. Considering the standard algorithm for the Dobson instruments, and comparing to results using the official 1992 ozone absorption coefficients values and the single set of slit functions defined for all Dobson instruments, the calculated TOC changes by +1%, with little variation depending on which data set is used. We applied the changes to the European Dobson and Brewer reference instruments during the Izaña 2012 Absolute Calibration Campaign. With the application of a common Langley calibration and the IUP cross section, the differences between Brewer and Dobson data sets vanish, whereas using those of Bass and Paur and DBM produces differences of 1.5 and 2%, respectively. A study of the temperature dependence of these cross-section data sets is presented using the Arosa, Switzerland, total ozone record of 2003–2006, obtained from two Brewer-type instruments and one Dobson-type instrument, combined with the stratospheric ozone and temperature profiles from the Payerne soundings in the same period. The seasonal dependence of the differences between the results from the various instruments is greatly reduced with the application of temperature-dependent absorption coefficients, with the greatest reduction obtained using the IUP data set.
Constraining regional greenhouse gas emissions using geostationary concentration measurements: a theoretical study
Authors: Rayner P. J. , Utembe S. R. , Crowell S.
Published: February 2014

Abstract. We investigate the ability of column-integrated trace gas measurements from a geostationary satellite to constrain surface fluxes at regional scale. The proposed geoCARB instrument measures CO2, CO and CH4 at a maximum resolution of 3 km east–west × 2.7 km north–south. Precisions are 3 ppm for CO2, 10 ppb for CO and 18 ppb for CH4. Sampling frequency is flexible. Here we sample a region at the location of Shanghai every 2 daylight hours for 6 days in June. We test the observing system by calculating the posterior uncertainty covariance of fluxes. We are able to constrain urban emissions at 3 km resolution including an isolated power-plant. The CO measurement plays the strongest role; without it our effective resolution falls to 5 km. Methane fluxes are similarly well-estimated at 5 km resolution. Estimating the errors for a full year suggests such an instrument would be a useful tool for both science and policy applications.
Diversity of Arctic Pelagic Prokaryotes with an emphasis on photoheterotrophic bacteria: a review
Authors: Boeuf D. , Humily F. , Jeanthon C.
Published: February 2014

Abstract. The Arctic Ocean is a unique marine environment with respect to seasonality of light, temperature, perennial ice cover and strong stratification. Other important distinctive features are the influence of extensive continental shelves and its interactions with Atlantic and Pacific water masses and freshwater from sea ice melt and rivers. These characteristics have major influence on the biological and biogeochemical processes occurring in this complex natural system. Heterotrophic bacteria are crucial components of marine food webs and have key roles in controlling carbon fluxes in the oceans. Although it was previously thought that these organisms relied on the organic carbon in seawater for all of their energy needs, several recent discoveries now suggest that pelagic bacteria can depart from a strictly heterotrophic lifestyle by obtaining energy through unconventional mechanisms that are linked to the penetration of sunlight into surface waters. These photoheterotrophic mechanisms may play a significant role in the energy budget in the euphotic zone of marine environments. We can suspect that this role could be of greater importance in the Arctic Ocean where environmental changes triggered by climate change could favor the photoheterotrophic lifestyle. Here we review advances in our knowledge of the diversity of marine photoheterotrophic bacteria and discuss their significance in the Arctic Ocean gained in the framework of the Malina cruise.
The amount and timing of precipitation control the magnitude, seasonality and sources (14C) of ecosystem respiration in a polar semi-desert, NW Greenland
Authors: Lupascu M. , Welker J. M. , Seibt U. , Xu X. , Velicogna I. , Lindsey D. S. , Czimczik C. I.
Published: February 2014

Abstract. This study investigates how warming and changes in precipitation may affect the cycling of carbon (C) in tundra soils, and between high arctic tundra and the atmosphere. We quantified ecosystem respiration (Reco) and soil pore space CO2 in a polar semi-desert under current and future climate conditions simulated by long-term experimental warming (+2 °C, +4 °C), water addition (+50% summer precipitation) and a combination of both (+4 °C × +50% summer precipitation). We also measured the 14C content of Reco and soil CO2 to distinguish young C cycling rapidly between the atmosphere and the ecosystem from older C stored in the soil for centuries to millennia. We identified changes in the amount and timing of precipitation as a key control of the magnitude, seasonality and sources of Reco in a polar semi-desert. Throughout each summer, small (<4 mm) precipitation events during drier periods triggered the release of very old C pulses from the deep soil, while larger precipitation events (>4 mm), more winter snow and experimental irrigation were associated with higher Reco fluxes and the release of recently-fixed (young) plant C. Warmer summers and experimental warming also resulted in higher Reco fluxes (+2 °C > +4 °C), but coincided with losses of older C. We conclude that in high arctic dry tundra systems, future magnitudes and patterns of old C emissions will be controlled as much by the summer precipitation regime and winter snowpack as by warming. The release of older soil C is of concern as it may lead to net C losses from the ecosystem. Therefore, reliable predictions of precipitation amounts, frequency, and timing are required to predict the changing C cycle in the High Arctic.
Climate vs. carbon dioxide controls on biomass burning: a model analysis of the glacial-interglacial contrast
Authors: Martin Calvo M. , Prentice I. C. , Harrison S. P.
Published: February 2014

Abstract. Climate controls fire regimes through its influence on the amount and types of fuel present and their dryness; CO2 availability, in turn, constrains primary production by limiting photosynthetic activity in plants. However, although fuel accumulation depends on biomass production, and hence CO2 availability, the links between atmospheric CO2 and biomass burning are not well known. Here a fire-enabled dynamic global vegetation model (the Land surface Processes and eXchanges model, LPX) is used to attribute glacial-interglacial changes in biomass burning to CO2 increase, which would be expected to increase primary production and therefore fuel loads even in the absence of climate change, vs. climate change effects. Four general circulation models provided Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) climate anomalies – that is, differences from the pre-industrial (PI) control climate – from the Palaeoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project Phase 2, allowing the construction of four scenarios for LGM climate. Modelled carbon fluxes in biomass burning were corrected for the model's observed biases in contemporary biome-average values. With LGM climate and low CO2 (185 ppm) effects included, the modelled global flux was 70 to 80% lower at the LGM than in PI time. LGM climate with pre-industrial CO2 (280 ppm) however yielded unrealistic results, with global and Northern Hemisphere biomass burning fluxes greater than in the pre-industrial climate. Using the PI CO2 concentration increased the modelled LGM biomass burning fluxes for all climate models and latitudinal bands to between four and ten times their values under LGM CO2 concentration. It is inferred that a substantial part of the increase in biomass burning after the LGM must be attributed to the effect of increasing CO2 concentration on productivity and fuel load. Today, by analogy, both rising CO2 and global warming must be considered as risk factors for increasing biomass burning. Both effects need to be included in models to project future fire risks.
The Wageningen Lowland Runoff Simulator (WALRUS): application to the Hupsel Brook catchment and Cabauw polder
Authors: Brauer C. C. , Torfs P. J. J. F. , Teuling A. J. , Uijlenhoet R.
Published: February 2014

Abstract. The Wageningen Lowland Runoff Simulator (WALRUS) is a new parametric (conceptual) rainfall-runoff model which accounts explicitly for processes that are important in lowland areas, such as groundwater-unsaturated zone coupling, wetness-dependent flowroutes, groundwater–surface water feedbacks, and seepage and surface water supply (see companion paper by Brauer et al., 2014). Lowland catchments can be divided into slightly sloping, freely draining catchments and flat polders with controlled water levels. Here, we apply WALRUS to two contrasting Dutch catchments: the Hupsel Brook catchment and Cabauw polder. In both catchments, WALRUS performs well: Nash–Sutcliffe efficiencies obtained after calibration on one year of discharge observations are 0.87 for the Hupsel Brook catchment and 0.83 for the Cabauw polder, with values of 0.74 and 0.76 for validation. The model also performs well during floods and droughts and can forecast the effect of control operations. Through the dynamic division between quick and slow flowroutes controlled by a wetness index, temporal and spatial variability in groundwater depths can be accounted for, which results in adequate simulation of discharge peaks as well as low flows. The performance of WALRUS is most sensitive to the parameter controlling the wetness index and the groundwater reservoir constant, and to a lesser extent to the quickflow reservoir constant. The effects of these three parameters can be identified in the discharge time series, which indicates that the model is not overparameterised (parsimonious). Forcing uncertainty was found to have a larger effect on modelled discharge than parameter uncertainty and uncertainty in initial conditions.