bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Communication skills training in dementia care: a systematic review of effectiveness, training content, and didactic methods in different care settings
Authors: Eggenberger Eva , Heimerl Katharina , Bennett Michael I.
Published: November 2012

Background: Caring for and caring about people with dementia require specific communication skills. Healthcare professionals and family caregivers usually receive little training to enable them to meet the communicative needs of people with dementia. This review identifies existent interventions to enhance communication in dementia care in various care settings.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE, AMED, EMBASE, PsychINFO, CINAHL, The Cochrane Library, Gerolit, and Web of Science for scientific articles reporting interventions in both English and German. An intervention was defined as communication skills training by means of face-to-face interaction with the aim of improving basic communicative skills. Both professional and family caregivers were included. The effectiveness of such training was analyzed. Different types of training were defined. Didactic methods, training content, and additional organizational features were qualitatively examined.

Results: This review included 12 trials totaling 831 persons with dementia, 519 professional caregivers, and 162 family caregivers. Most studies were carried out in the USA, the UK, and Germany. Eight studies took place in nursing homes; four studies were located in a home-care setting. No studies could be found in an acute-care setting. We provide a list of basic communicative principles for good communication in dementia care. Didactic methods included lectures, hands-on training, group discussions, and role-play.

Conclusion: This review shows that communication skills training in dementia care significantly improves the quality of life and wellbeing of people with dementia and increases positive interactions in various care settings. Communication skills training shows significant impact on professional and family caregivers’ communication skills, competencies, and knowledge. Additional organizational features improve the sustainability of communication interventions.
Self-Practice and Self-Reflection in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Training: What Factors Influence Trainees’ Engagement and Experience of Benefit?
Authors: Bennett-Levy James , Lee Nicole K.
Published: November 2012

Background: Previous studies of self-practice/self-reflection (SP/SR) CBT training have found that trainees report significant benefits from practising CBT techniques on themselves (self-practice) and reflecting on their experience (self-reflection) as a formal part of their CBT training. However, not all trainees experience the same level of benefit from SP/SR and not all types of training course produce benefits to the same extent. Aims: This paper examines the question: What factors influence trainees’ reported benefit from SP/SR? The aim was to develop a model to maximize the value of SP/SR training. Method: The authors used a grounded theory analysis of four SP/SR training courses, varying along several dimensions, to derive a model that could account for the data. Results: A model was derived comprising of seven elements: Two outcomes – “Experience of Benefit” and “Engagement with the Process” – that mutually influence one another; and five other influencing factors – “Course Structure and Requirements”, “Expectation of Benefit”, “Feeling of Safety with the Process”, “Group Process”, and “Available Personal Resources” – that mediate the impact on Engagement with the Process and Experience of Benefit from SP/SR. Conclusions: A model that provides guidance about the best ways to set up and develop SP/SR programs has been developed. This model may now be subject to empirical testing by trainers and researchers. Implications and recommendations for the design and development of future SP/SR programs are discussed.
HERDER'S PHANTOM PUBLIC
Authors: RICHARDS CHASE
Published: November 2012

Some of Herder's most striking ideas stemmed from his early evaluation of German literary publicity, which to his mind stood in stark contrast to conditions in the sociable world. Such a predicament bespeaks the importance of considering the relationship between printed text and lived sociability in the Enlightenment. By charting the heady twists and turns in his intellectual development from 1765 to 1769, this essay treats the young Herder in what for him became an aesthetically charged field between the two. The “phantom” public which he came to envision would be manifest to the senses, at least to the extent that it might be “felt” by the reader of print, but it also amounted to a surrogate for the more tangibly sensual experience of face-to-face community.
ON GANDHI'S CRITIQUE OF THE STATE: SOURCES, CONTEXTS, CONJUNCTURES
Authors: MANTENA KARUNA
Published: November 2012

Gandhi's critique of the modern state was central to his political thinking. It served as a pivotal hinge between Gandhi's anticolonialism and his theory of politics and was given striking institutional form in his vision of decentralized peasant democracy. This essay explores the origins and implications of Gandhian antistatism by situating it within a genealogy of early twentieth-century political pluralism, specifically British and Indian pluralist criticism of state sovereignty and centralization. This essay traces that critique from the imperial sociology of Henry Sumner Maine, through the political theory of Harold Laski and G. D. H. Cole, to Radhakamal Mukerjee's reworking of these strands into a normative–universal model of Eastern pluralism. The essay concludes with a consideration of Gandhi's ideal of a stateless, nonviolent polity as a culmination and overturning of the pluralist tradition and as integral to his distinctive understanding of political freedom, rule, and action.
FORUM: INTELLECTUAL HISTORY IN AND OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY
Authors: MOSES A. DIRK
Published: November 2012

What can one say about the state of the art in the Federal Republic? A number of aspects are discernible, not only in the practices and various traditions of intellectual history there, but also in its politics: the stark dichotomy between Marxists and anti-Marxists; the ever-present metahistorical question of which (sub)discipline, field, or method would set the political agenda; and the position of Jewish émigrés. These issues raise still more basic ones: how to understand the Nazi experience, which remained living memory for most West Germans; how to confront the gradually congealing image of the Holocaust in private and public life; and the related matters of German intellectual traditions and the new order's foundations. Had the Nazi experience discredited those traditions and had the personal and institutional continuities from the Nazi to Federal Republican polities delegitimated the latter? These were questions with which intellectuals wrestled while they wrangled about historical method. In this introduction, I give a brief overview of these and other innovations in the field, before highlighting some of its characteristics today.
A POST-LIBERAL ORDER? HANS ZEHRER AND CONSERVATIVE CONSENSUS BUILDING IN 1950S WEST GERMANY
Authors: PAYK MARCUS M.
Published: November 2012

While it is well known that German conservative intellectuals were skeptical or indifferent to the Federal Republic of Germany established in 1949 and to its democratic founding principles, this essay shifts attention to a specific mode of right-wing acceptance of the new order. Focusing on Hans Zehrer, a renowned journalist and notorious opponent of democracy in the Weimar Republic, I will demonstrate how right-wing intellectuals interpreted West Germany's political system as a post-liberal order after the “end of politics”. But this vision of transcending societal and intellectual conflicts in a meta-politics was neither entirely new nor simply raked up from the late 1920s but reshaped to fit the postwar sociopolitical context. The essay illuminates several intellectual connections between Weimar-era neoconservatism and the specific conservative consensus formed after 1949, but it also explores personnel continuities within a network of right-wing journalists as well as continuities in the field of journalistic style.
HOW TO TALK ABOUT RELIGION
Authors: PECORA VINCENT P.
Published: November 2012

It is now a problem more or less universally acknowledged that religion, even in an ostensibly secular age, must be in need of good commentary. The underlying problem is: what would constitute good commentary at this point? It is not as if religion has just appeared on the horizon of the secular intellectual. Even if we restrict our purview to nonreligious, nontheological discourse, there is a long tradition of critical appraisals and histories of religious phenomena, dating from the ancient Greeks. The field receives an intellectual boost of sorts in the late eighteenth, the nineteenth, and the early twentieth centuries, as the religion of the theologians and prophetic reformers gives way to anthropological and sociological disciplines, the better to be scientifically understood and codified. This upsurge in the secular accounting for religious belief is often explained as the result of the Enlightenment—that is, materialist explanations of nature, textual authority, and psychology eventually turn religion into a natural function of human will (as in Hume and Kant), a series of authorial inventions (as in Strauss and the “higher criticism”), and a psychological manifestation of deeper impulses, from love (as in Feuerbach), to class-based self-narcotizing illusion (as in Marx), to fear of the loss of paternal care (as in Freud). Max Weber proposed the most intriguing and far-reaching hypothesis about how the Enlightenment superseded religion in the West: Protestant reform within Christianity itself—beginning with Luther and Calvin—designed to produce a purer and far less magical, mystical, hierarchic, and corrupt system of belief, had the unintended consequence of laying the psychological foundations for ascetic capitalism, and hence (as John Wesley foresaw) the seemingly inevitable decline of religion in favor of worldly pursuits.
Applications of AFM-IR—Diverse Chemical Composition Analyses at Nanoscale Spatial Resolution
Authors: Marcott Curtis , Lo Michael , Kjoller Kevin , Prater Craig , Gerrard David P.
Published: November 2012

The combination of infrared (IR) spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) has produced a technique, called AFM-IR, which is becoming one of the most important recent developments in the field of IR spectroscopy and chemical imaging. Conventional Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopy is well established as a technique for chemical characterization of small samples down to the 3–10 mm size range. This diffraction-imposed size limit has prevented the application of FT-IR microspectroscopy to smaller analysis regions that are relevant to analysis problems in polymer materials and the life sciences. The nanoIR™ instrument (Anasys Instruments, Santa Barbara, CA) described here uses an AFM probe as the IR absorbance sensor and hence breaks through the diffraction limit to attain spatial resolution improvements of between one and two orders of magnitude beyond previous techniques. Thus, the AFM-IR concept provides chemical information from nanoscale regions of polymers and other organic materials. This article describes the physics behind the technique, followed by results from several applications.
Nanoscale Automated Phase and Orientation Mapping in the TEM
Authors: Darbal A. D. , Gemmi M. , Portillo J. , Rauch E. , Nicolopoulos S.
Published: November 2012

The limitation of spatial resolution in orientation imaging via electron backscattered diffraction analysis in the scanning electron microscope (SEM) makes it difficult to investigate the microstructure of nanocrystalline materials. The use of the recently developed transmission electron microscope (TEM) based product, known as ASTAR, offers the possibility of reliable orientation/phase mapping with a spatial resolution below 3 nm. In ASTAR, a nanoprobe electron beam is scanned over the specimen, and spot diffraction patterns are collected. The electron beam is precessed to reduce dynamical effects and improve pattern quality. Using template matching, the diffraction patterns are indexed automatically.
Nanoscale Chemical Mapping by Local Infrared Spectroscopy (nano-FTIR)
Authors: Schiefer Stefan , Huth Florian , Hillenbrand Rainer
Published: November 2012

Research and development of nanomaterials, especially those made of organic molecules, has rapidly increased in the last couple of years. Novel nanomaterials exhibit extraordinary material properties and will have a huge impact on chemical, pharmaceutical, and microelectronic products of the near future.
NetNotes
Authors: Phillips Thomas E.
Published: November 2012

Selected postings from the Microscopy Listserver from July 1, 2012 to August 31, 2012. Complete listings and subscription information can be obtained at http://www.microscopy.com. Postings may have been edited to conserve space or for clarity.
Multimodal Optical Nanoprobe for Advanced In-Situ Electron Microscopy
Authors: Zhu Y. , Milas M. , Han M.-G. , Rameau J.D. , Sfeir M.
Published: November 2012

In-situ electron microscopy has gained considerable attention in recent years. It provides a “live” view of a material or device under study at various length scales. For example, by heating or cooling a sample one can study structural change at the atomic scale to understand the driving forces and mechanisms of phase transitions. By applying electric and magnetic fields on a ferroelectric or magnetic architecture in operation, one can directly observe how electric and magnetic domains switch, how anions and cations shift their positions, and how spins change their configuration across a domain wall, aiding the development of better electromagnetic devices. In the study of photovoltaic devices and junctions, a major challenge is to directly correlate light-induced electric currents with local structural inhomogeneities and dynamics. Such a capability would allow us to evaluate the performance of individual p-n junctions and to improve optoelectronic efficiency.
Genetic, Epigenetic, and Environmental Influences on Dentofacial Structures and Oral Health: Ongoing Studies of Australian Twins and Their Families
Authors: Hughes Toby , Bockmann Michelle , Mihailidis Suzanna , Bennett Corinna , Harris Abbe , Seow W. Kim , Lekkas Dimitra , Ranjitkar Sarbin , Rupinskas Loreta , Pinkerton Sandra , Brook Alan , Smith Richard , Townsend Grant C.
Published: November 2012

The Craniofacial Biology Research Group in the School of Dentistry at The University of Adelaide is entering an exciting new phase of its studies of dental development and oral health in twins and their families. Studies of the teeth and faces of Australian twins have been continuing for nearly 30 years, with three major cohorts of twins recruited over that time, and currently we are working with twins aged 2 years old to adults. Cross-sectional data and records relating to teeth and faces of twins are available for around 300 pairs of teenage twins, as well as longitudinal data for 300 pairs of twins examined at three different stages of development, once with primary teeth, once at the mixed dentition stage, and then again when the permanent teeth had emerged. The third cohort of twins comprises over 600 pairs of twins recruited at around birth, together with other family members. The emphasis in this third group of twins has been to record the timing of emergence of the primary teeth and also to sample saliva and dental plaque to establish the timing of colonization of decay-forming bacteria in the mouth. Analyses have confirmed that genetic factors strongly influence variation in timing of primary tooth emergence. The research team is now beginning to carry out clinical examinations of the twins to see whether those who become colonized earlier with decay-forming bacteria develop dental decay at an earlier age. By making comparisons within and between monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs and applying modern molecular approaches, we are now teasing out how genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors interact to influence dental development and also oral health.
Aktueller und erwünschter Obst- und Gemüsekonsum bei Studierenden
Authors: Sieverding Monika , Scheiter Fabian
Published: November 2012

Das Anliegen der Studie war es, die persönlichen Ziele bezüglich des Obst- und Gemüsekonsums bei männlichen und weiblichen Studierenden zu erfassen und zu überprüfen, ob die explizite Vorgabe der „5 am Tag”-Empfehlung einen Effekt auf diese persönlichen Ziele hat. Die Hälfte der teilnehmenden 482 Studierenden erhielt einen Fragebogen mit der „5 am Tag”-Empfehlung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Ernährung (DGE), die andere Hälfte erhielt einen Fragebogen ohne die Empfehlung. Abhängige Variablen waren die Angaben, wie viele Portionen Obst und Gemüse die Befragten zurzeit am Tag essen (aktueller Konsum) und wie viele Portionen sie gern essen würden (Wunsch-Konsum). Es zeigte sich ein signifikanter Geschlechterunterschied im aktuellen Konsum und im Wunsch-Konsum, während die Vorgabe der „5 am Tag”-Empfehlung nur einen minimalen Effekt hatte. In beiden Untersuchungsbedingungen lagen die persönlichen Ziele hinsichtlich des täglichen Obst- und Gemüsekonsums bei Männern (mit durchschnittlich 2 Portionen) wie bei Frauen (mit durchschnittlich 3 Portionen) deutlich unter 5 Portionen. Auch wenn Studierende nicht repräsentativ für die Gesamtbevölkerung sind, können die Ergebnisse dieser Studie einen Hinweis darauf geben, warum die „5 am Tag”-Kampagne bisher nicht erfolgreicher war. Es könnte sein, dass das „5 am Tag”-Ziel für viele Personen zu hoch ist und deshalb die persönlichen Ziele nicht beeinflussen kann.
Geschlechtsstereotype und ihre Bedeutung für die Angabe physischer Symptome im Kindes- und Jugendalter
Authors: Schmitz Anne-Katharina , Vierhaus Marc , Künnecke Mareike , Lohaus Arnold
Published: November 2012

Die vorliegende Studie untersucht an N = 290 Kindern und Jugendlichen der 5., 7. und 9. Klasse (M = 12.66, SD = 1.68) Geschlechtsdifferenzen hinsichtlich der Angabe von physischen Symptomatiken. Es wird dabei der Frage nachgegangen, ob geschlechtsrollenbezogene Erwartungen die angegebenen Symptomatiken beeinflussen. Die Kinder und Jugendlichen wurden dazu gebeten, somatische Symptome anzugeben, die sie bei sich wahrnehmen. Darüber hinaus sollten sie einschätzen, welche Symptome von welcher Geschlechtsgruppe eher erfahren werden, um dadurch die symptomspezifischen Stereotype zu erfassen. Weiterhin sollte ein Fragebogen zur Erhebung der allgemeinen Geschlechtsstereotype bearbeitet werden. Wie erwartet, wurden somatische Symptomatiken häufiger von Mädchen als von Jungen angegeben. Eine Moderationsanalyse zeigte, dass die Geschlechtsunterschiede bei den Symptomangaben durch die symptomspezifischen Geschlechtsstereotype moderiert werden, nicht jedoch durch die allgemeinen Geschlechtsstereotype. Geschlechtsunterschiede in den selbstberichteten Symptomen zeigen sich demnach nur in der Gruppe von Kindern und Jugendlichen, die entsprechende Unterschiede zwischen Jungen und Mädchen auch erwarten.
Beyond Work and Life
Authors: Grisslich Pia , Proske Antje , Körndle Hermann
Published: November 2012

Research concerning Work-Life balance has focused primarily on a division between time devoted to work and social life; but in addition, individuals require time for themselves–they desire “me time.” This study investigates the role of me time when considering more than two dimensions for the Work-Life balance model. By combining theoretical considerations regarding me time with an existing four-dimensional life-balance approach, the existence of a three-dimensional life-balance concept with factors for work time, social time, and me time was tested and confirmed. Secondly, the predictive effects of the life-balance concept on health were studied. The results showed that the three-dimensional life-balance model predicts more variance in health than does the two-dimensional approach that includes only the factors work and social time. Individuals who scored high on a self-reported life-balance scale also scored higher on self-reported health measures. Finally, the relationship between life balance and personal resources was investigated. Core self-evaluations and self-regulation revealed predictive effects on life balance. In line with theoretical expectations, individuals skilled in personal resources reported higher levels for life balance.
Sind motorische Handlungen auf eine präzise Wahrnehmung angewiesen?
Authors: Ellenbürger Thomas , Krüger Melanie , Shea Charles H. , Panzer Stefan
Published: November 2012

Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war es, den Einfluss spezifischer visueller Wahrnehmungseffekte auf die Handlungskontrolle von closed-loop-kontrollierten Zielbewegungen zu untersuchen. Mittels einer simultanen Größen-Kontrast-Illusion (Ebbinghaus-Titchener-Illusion) wurden die Wahrnehmungseffekte manipuliert. Die Handlung und die inhärenten informationellen motorischen Prozesse wurden über das Fitts’sche Gesetz mittels verschiedener Schwierigkeitsindizes (IDs 3, 4.5) systematisch variiert. Die Aufgabe der Versuchspersonen war es, eine reziproke, zyklische, zielmotorische Präzisionsaufgabe über 30 s hinweg mittels einer Flexions- und Extensionsbewegung, zwischen zwei illusionserzeugenden Stimuli und unter zwei unterschiedlichen Schwierigkeitsindizes so genau und so schnell wie möglich auszuführen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass es sowohl durch die visuelle Illusion, als auch durch die Erhöhung der ID zu einer Minderung in der motorischen Ausführungsleistung kam. Der Befund verweist darauf, dass visuelle Illusionseffekte die Handlungskontrolle bei closed-loop-kontrollierten Zielbewegungen beeinträchtigen.
A land‐to‐ocean perspective on the magnitude, source and implication of DIC flux from major Arctic rivers to the Arctic Ocean
Authors: Tank Suzanne E. , Raymond Peter A. , Striegl Robert G. , McClelland James W. , Holmes Robert M. , Fiske Greg J. , Peterson Bruce J.
Published: November 2012

A series of seasonally distributed measurements from the six largest Arctic rivers (the Ob', Yenisey, Lena, Kolyma, Yukon and Mackenzie) was used to examine the magnitude and significance of Arctic riverine DIC flux to larger scale C dynamics within the Arctic system. DIC concentration showed considerable, and synchronous, seasonal variation across these six large Arctic rivers, which have an estimated combined annual DIC flux of 30 Tg C yr−1. By examining the relationship between DIC flux and landscape variables known to regulate riverine DIC, we extrapolate to a DIC flux of 57 ± 9.9 Tg C yr−1for the full pan‐arctic basin, and show that DIC export increases with runoff, the extent of carbonate rocks and glacial coverage, but decreases with permafrost extent. This pan‐arctic riverine DIC estimate represents 13–15% of the total global DIC flux. The annual flux of selected ions (HCO3−, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Sr2+, and Cl−) from the six largest Arctic rivers confirms that chemical weathering is dominated by inputs from carbonate rocks in the North American watersheds, but points to a more important role for silicate rocks in Siberian watersheds. In the coastal ocean, river water‐induced decreases in aragonite saturation (i.e., an ocean acidification effect) appears to be much more pronounced in Siberia than in the North American Arctic, and stronger in the winter and spring than in the late summer. Accounting for seasonal variation in the flux of DIC and other major ions gives a much clearer understanding of the importance of riverine DIC within the broader pan‐arctic C cycle.
Flux measurements of explosive degassing using a yearlong hydroacoustic record at an erupting submarine volcano
Authors: Dziak R. P. , Baker E. T. , Shaw A. M. , Bohnenstiehl D. R. , Chadwick W. W. , Haxel J. H. , Matsumoto H. , Walker S. L.
Published: November 2012

The output of gas and tephra from volcanoes is an inherently disorganized process that makes reliable flux estimates challenging to obtain. Continuous monitoring of gas flux has been achieved in only a few instances at subaerial volcanoes, but never for submarine volcanoes. Here we use the first sustained (yearlong) hydroacoustic monitoring of an erupting submarine volcano (NW Rota‐1, Mariana arc) to make calculations of explosive gas flux from a volcano into the ocean. Bursts of Strombolian explosive degassing at the volcano summit (520 m deep) occurred at 1–2 min intervals during the entire 12‐month hydrophone record and commonly exhibited cyclic step‐function changes between high and low intensity. Total gas flux calculated from the hydroacoustic record is 5.4 ± 0.6 Tg a−1, where the magmatic gases driving eruptions at NW Rota‐1 are primarily H2O, SO2, and CO2. Instantaneous fluxes varied by a factor of ∼100 over the deployment. Using melt inclusion information to estimate the concentration of CO2 in the explosive gases as 6.9 ± 0.7 wt %, we calculate an annual CO2 eruption flux of 0.4 ± 0.1 Tg a−1. This result is within the range of measured CO2 fluxes at continuously erupting subaerial volcanoes, and represents ∼0.2–0.6% of the annual estimated output of CO2from all subaerial arc volcanoes, and ∼0.4–0.6% of the mid‐ocean ridge flux. The multiyear eruptive history of NW Rota‐1 demonstrates that submarine volcanoes can be significant and sustained sources of CO2 to the shallow ocean.
Evaluation of high‐degree series expansions of the topographic potential to higher‐order powers
Authors: Hirt Christian , Kuhn Michael
Published: November 2012

Mass associated with surface topography makes a significant contribution to the Earth's gravitational potential at all spectral scales. Accurate computation in spherical harmonics to high degree requires calculations of multiple integer powers of the global topography. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the contributions of Earth's topography to its potential to the tenth power of the topography, and quantify truncation errors resulting from neglecting higher‐order powers. To account for the effect of gravity attenuation with height, we use series expansions for gravity upward‐continuation to the Earth's surface. With degree‐2160 expansions, limitation to the first three powers of the topography, as often done in practice, may give rise to maximum truncation errors exceeding 100 mGal at a reference sphere, and ∼25 mGal at the topography. Aiming for a maximum truncation error of 1 mGal we found that higher‐order terms to the seventh power are required over the Himalaya Mountains as example of Earth's most rugged land region. Upward‐continuation of topographic gravity effects with mGal‐precision from the sphere to the Earth's surface is accomplished with a series expansion of fifth order. As a key finding, the accurate conversion of topography to gravity effects at the Earth's surface is governed by two similar yet not identical series expansions. For degree‐2160 expansions, we recommend that the powers of Earth's topography be used up to seventh order to accurately evaluate the topographic potential to the mGal‐level, as required, e.g., for the construction of high‐resolution Bouguer gravity anomaly maps in spherical harmonics.
Climatic impact of the long‐lasting 1783 Laki eruption: Inapplicability of mass‐independent sulfur isotopic composition measurements
Authors: Schmidt Anja , Thordarson Thorvaldur , Oman Luke D. , Robock Alan , Self Stephen
Published: November 2012

The long‐lasting 1783–1784 CE Laki flood lava eruption in Iceland released around 120 Tg of sulfur dioxide into the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere. Northern Hemisphere temperature proxy records of the 1780s indicate below‐average temperatures for up to three years following the eruption. The very warm summer of 1783 in Europe, which was followed by a very cold winter, may have been caused by the eruption, but the mechanisms are not yet well understood. Some studies attributed the cold winter 1783–1784 to natural variability of climate. However, our climate model simulations show that the Laki radiative effects lasted long enough to contribute to the winter cooling. We suggest that sulfur isotopic composition measurements obtained using samples from Greenland ice cores do not provide evidence of either a short‐lived volcanic aerosol cloud or a short‐lived climatic impact of the Laki eruption. In fact, the applicability of mass‐independent sulfur isotopic composition measurements for interpreting the climatic impact of any high‐latitude eruption remains yet to be demonstrated.
Unexpected increasing AOT trends over northwest Bay of Bengal in the early postmonsoon season
Authors: Kishcha Pavel , Starobinets Boris , Long Charles N. , Alpert Pinhas
Published: November 2012

The main point of our study is that aerosol trends can be created by changes in meteorology without changes in aerosol source strength. Over the 10 year period 2000–2009, in October, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) showed strong increasing aerosol optical thickness (AOT) trends of approximately 14% yr−1 over northwest Bay of Bengal (BoB) in the absence of AOT trends over the east of the Indian subcontinent. This was unexpected because sources of anthropogenic pollution were located over the Indian subcontinent and aerosol transport from the Indian subcontinent to northwest BoB was carried out by prevailing winds. In October, winds over the east of the Indian subcontinent were stronger than winds over northwest BoB, which resulted in wind convergence and accumulation of aerosol particles over northwest BoB. Moreover, there was an increasing trend in wind convergence over northwest BoB. This led to increasing trends in the accumulation of aerosol particles over northwest BoB and, consequently, to strong AOT trends over this area. In contrast to October, November showed no increasing AOT trends over northwest BoB or the nearby Indian subcontinent. The lack of AOT trends over northwest BoB corresponds to a lack of trends in wind convergence in that region. Finally, December domestic heating by the growing population resulted in positive AOT trends of similar magnitude over land and sea. Our findings illustrate that in order to explain and predict trends in regional aerosol loading, meteorological trends should be taken into consideration together with changes in aerosol source strength.
El Niño–Southern Oscillation extrema in the Holocene and Last Glacial Maximum
Authors: Koutavas Athanasios , Joanides Stephan
Published: November 2012

The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the largest engine of interannual climate variability on the planet, yet its past behavior and potential for future change are poorly understood and vigorously contested. Reconstructions of past ENSO are indispensable for testing climate models tasked with predicting future ENSO activity in a warming world, but suitable geologic archives are scarce, especially for the last glacial period. Here we reconstruct mean climate and ENSO variability in the Holocene and Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) from oxygen isotopic ratios (δ18O) of individual foraminifera retrieved from deep‐sea sediments. Our results document coordinated adjustments of the tropical Pacific/ENSO system between two diametrically opposite states: an “amplified ENSO” state in the LGM associated with a reduced zonal temperature gradient, and a “damped ENSO” state in the Mid‐Holocene with enhanced gradient. Orbital precession provided the switch between these states and acted as the dominant external driver of the tropical Pacific/ENSO system in the past 25,000 years. The linked response of the mean state and variability to orbital forcing provides an integrated framework for testing ENSO theory and models.
A regional peaks‐over‐threshold model in a nonstationary climate
Authors: Roth M. , Buishand T. A. , Jongbloed G. , Klein Tank A. M. G. , van Zanten J. H.
Published: November 2012

Regional frequency analysis is often used to reduce the uncertainty in the estimation of distribution parameters and quantiles. In this paper a regional peaks‐over‐threshold model is introduced that can be used to analyze precipitation extremes in a changing climate. We use a temporally varying threshold, which is determined by quantile regression for each site separately. The marginal distributions of the excesses are described by generalized Pareto distributions (GPD). The parameters of these distributions may vary over time and their spatial variation is modeled by the index flood (IF) approach. We consider different models for the temporal dependence of the GPD parameters. Parameter estimation is based on the framework of composite likelihood. Composite likelihood ratio tests that account for spatial dependence are used to test the significance of temporal trends in the model parameters and to test the IF assumption. We apply the method to gridded, observed daily precipitation data from the Netherlands for the winter season. A general increase of the threshold is observed, especially along the west coast and northern parts of the country. Moreover, there is no indication that the ratio between the GPD scale parameter and the threshold has changed over time, which implies that the scale parameter increases by the same percentage as the threshold. These positive trends lead to an increase of rare extremes of on average 22% over the country during the observed period.
Modeling of facade leaching in urban catchments
Authors: Coutu S. , Del Giudice D. , Rossi L. , Barry D. A.
Published: November 2012

Building facades are protected from microbial attack by incorporation of biocides within them. Flow over facades leaches these biocides and transports them to the urban environment. A parsimonious water quantity/quality model applicable for engineered urban watersheds was developed to compute biocide release from facades and their transport at the urban basin scale. The model couples two lumped submodels applicable at the basin scale, and a local model of biocide leaching at the facade scale. For the facade leaching, an existing model applicable at the individual wall scale was utilized. The two lumped models describe urban hydrodynamics and leachate transport. The integrated model allows prediction of biocide concentrations in urban rivers. It was applied to a 15 km2urban hydrosystem in western Switzerland, the Vuachère river basin, to study three facade biocides (terbutryn, carbendazim, diuron). The water quality simulated by the model matched well most of the pollutographs at the outlet of the Vuachère watershed. The model was then used to estimate possible ecotoxicological impacts of facade leachates. To this end, exceedance probabilities and cumulative pollutant loads from the catchment were estimated. Results showed that the considered biocides rarely exceeded the relevant predicted no‐effect concentrations for the riverine system. Despite the heterogeneities and complexity of (engineered) urban catchments, the model application demonstrated that a computationally “light” model can be employed to simulate the hydrograph and pollutograph response within them. It thus allows catchment‐scale assessment of the potential ecotoxicological impact of biocides on receiving waters.
Ribonucleotide reductase small subunit M2 serves as a prognostic biomarker and predicts poor survival of colorectal cancers
Authors: Liu Xiyong , Zhang Hang , Lai Lily , Wang Xiaochen , Loera Sofia , Xue Lijun , He Huiyin , Zhang Keqiang , Hu Shuya , Huang Yasheng , Nelson Rebecca A. , Zhou Bingsen , Zhou Lun , Chu Peiguo , Zhang Suzhan , Zheng Shu , Yen Yun
Published: November 2012

The overexpression of RRM2 [RR (ribonucleotide reductase) small subunit M2] dramatically enhances the ability of the cancer cell to proliferate and to invade. To investigate further the relevance of RRM2 and CRCs (colorectal cancers), we correlated the expression of RRM2 with the clinical outcome of CRCs. A retrospective outcome study was conducted on CRCs collected from the COH [(City of Hope) National Medical Center, 217 cases] and ZJU (Zhejiang University, 220 cases). IHC (immunohistochemistry) was employed to determine the protein expression level of RRM2, and quantitative real-time PCR was employed to validate. Multivariate logistic analysis indicated that the adjusted ORs (odds ratios) of RRM2-high for distant metastases were 2.06 [95% CI (confidence interval), 1.01–4.30] and 5.89 (95% CI, 1.51–39.13) in the COH and ZJU sets respectively. The Kaplan–Meier analysis displayed that high expression of RRM2 had a negative impact on the OS (overall survival) and PFS (progress-free survival) of CRC in both sets significantly. The multivariate Cox analysis further demonstrated that HRs (hazard ratios) of RRM2-high for OS were 1.88 (95% CI, 1.03–3.36) and 2.06 (95% CI, 1.10–4.00) in the COH and ZJU sets respectively. Stratification analysis demonstrated that the HR of RRM2 dramatically increased to 12.22 (95% CI, 1.62–258.31) in the MMR (mismatch repair) gene-deficient subgroup in the COH set. Meanwhile, a real-time study demonstrated that down-regulation of RRM2 by siRNA (small interfering RNA) could significantly and specifically reduce the cell growth and adhesion ability in HT-29 and HCT-8 cells. Therefore RRM2 is an independent prognostic factor and predicts poor survival of CRCs. It is also a potential predictor for identifying good responders to chemotherapy for CRCs.
A Rare Case of Multiple Oblique Facial Clefts with Supernumerary Teeth: Case Report
Authors: Ramanathan Manikandhan , Parameswaran Ananthnarayanan , Jayakumar Naveen , Sneha Pendem , Sailer H.F.
Published: November 2012

Oblique facial clefts are rare congenital anomalies that can present alone or in association with other craniofacial anomalies. A high degree of clefting in the embryo may lead to hyperdontia secondary to dichotomy of the dental lamina. Multiple facial clefts with hyperdontia are clinically challenging and demand comprehensive rehabilitation. This article reports a case of multiple oblique facial clefts of variable severity with multiple supernumerary teeth in a 12-year-old boy. The varied clinical presentation along with the rarity of the occurrence mandate documentation.
Two approaches to the description of dilute superfluid Bose systems
Authors: Shevchenko S. I. , Rukin A. S.
Published: November 2012

The issue of adequate describing a gas of complex particles, composed of an even number of fermions, as point bosons is studied in alkali metals. In the low-density approximation we obtain the equation for the complex order parameter Φ(r1, r2) representing the wave function of atoms with taking into account the internal motion of the valence electrons. For superfluid systems formed by particles with internal degrees of freedom, this equation replaces the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. It is shown that, in general, exchange effects should be considered in the same approximation as effects of the direct interaction of atoms with each other. In particular, in the case of only the Coulomb interaction the neglect of exchange effects leads to qualitatively incorrect results. The problem of spontaneous polarization in superfluid systems is studied. The expression for the electric polarization of the inhomogeneous superfluid system is obtained.
The absorption spectra of thin films of ternary compounds in the RbI–PbI2 system
Authors: Yunakova O. N. , Miloslavskii V. K. , Kovalenko E. N. , Ksenofontova E. V.
Published: November 2012

Formation of compounds RbPbI3 and Rb4PbI6 in the RbI–PbI2 system is revealed, and their absorption spectra are investigated in an energy interval of 2–6 eV and at temperatures from 90 to 500 K. It is established that the low-frequency exciton excitations are localized in PbI64− structural elements of the crystal lattice, they are classified as excitons of intermediate coupling and are of a three-dimensional character in RbPbI3 and a quasi-two-dimensional one in Rb4PbI6.
On the low-temperature absorption of longitudinal ultrasound in Zr52.5Ti5Cu17.9Ni14.6Al10 bulk metallic glass
Authors: Bakai S. A. , Bulatov A. S. , Klochko V. S. , Korniets A. V. , Fateev M. P.
Published: November 2012

Ultrasonic absorption and attenuation in Zr52.5Ti5Cu17.9Ni14.6Al10 bulk metallic glass have been investigated at frequencies of 20, 50 and 150 MHz and temperatures from 80 to 300 K. Using the obtained data the activation energy spectrum of defects responsible for the ultrasonic attenuation is estimated. The results are discussed in the framework of the Debye relaxation model.
The effect of light doping on the creep of β-Sn single crystals induced by superconducting transition
Authors: Soldatov V. P. , Kirichenko G. I. , Natsik V. D. , Kazarov Yu. G.
Published: November 2012

Yield strength and characteristics of the transient creep in β-Sn single crystals doped with substitutional impurities In, Cd, Zn at the concentration of 0.01 at. % were measured at T = 1.6 K. The transient creep in samples with (100) 〈010〉 plastic slip orientation was observed after their normal–superconducting transition. As was earlier shown by the authors, plastic flow in such a slip system in pure β-Sn at low temperatures is determined by the dislocations overcoming Peierls barriers through the mechanism of nucleation and expansion of paired kinks (fluctuation creep stage) or over-barrier dislocation motion (dynamic creep stage). Comparison of the creep behavior in the pure and doped specimens allowed obtaining the information on the influence of impurity atoms on kinetics and dynamics of the motion of dislocation string in Peierls energy landscape. It was found that In and Cd impurities form weak obstacles for dislocations and cause a minor increase in yield strength while stimulating the dynamic creep stage. On the contrary, Zn atoms produce high barriers for dislocation motion, significantly increase the yield point and strongly reduce the contribution of dynamic effects.
Fluctuations in nanoscale magnetoelectronics devices
Authors: Fan Yabin , Ovchinnikov Igor V. , Jiang Wanjun , Schwartz Robert N. , Wang Kang L.
Published: November 2012

We analyze the quantum and thermal fluctuations in a magnetic nanoparticle that can be used as a component in magnetoelectronic devices and compare their influences on the basic modes of device operation at the nanoscale level. Within the framework of the effective Landau free energy constructed using a spin density functional approximation, we study the interplay between quantum and thermal fluctuations in different quantum numbers as the temperature and dimension of the particle are varied. Both theoretical and simulation results are presented for quantifying the quantum and thermal fluctuations. While quantum fluctuations hamper further miniaturization of today's electronic devices, our results suggest that the dominant factors affecting magnetoelectronic nanoscale devices are thermal fluctuations.
Absence of boron aggregates in superconducting silicon confirmed by atom probe tomography
Authors: Hoummada K. , Dahlem F. , Kociniewski T. , Boulmer J. , Dubois C. , Prudon G. , Bustarret E. , Courtois H. , Débarre D. , Mangelinck D.
Published: November 2012

Superconducting boron-doped silicon films prepared by gas immersion laser doping (GILD) technique are analyzed by atom probe tomography. The resulting three-dimensional chemical composition reveals that boron atoms are incorporated into crystalline silicon in the atomic percent concentration range, well above their solubility limit, without creating clusters or precipitates at the atomic scale. The boron spatial distribution is found to be compatible with local density of states measurements performed by scanning tunneling spectroscopy. These results combined with the observations of very low impurity level and of a sharp two-dimensional interface between doped and undoped regions show that the Si:B material obtained by GILD is a well-defined random substitutional alloy endowed with promising superconducting properties.
Strain and defects in Si-doped (Al)GaN epitaxial layers
Authors: Forghani Kamran , Schade Lukas , Schwarz Ulrich T. , Lipski Frank , Klein Oliver , Kaiser Ute , Scholz Ferdinand
Published: November 2012

Si is the most common dopant in (Al)GaN based devices acting as a donor. It has been observed that Si induces tensile strain in (Al)GaN films, which leads to an increasing tendency for cracking of such films with the increase of Si content and/or the increase of Al content. Based on x-ray investigations, the Si-doped films have a larger in-plane lattice constant than their undoped buffer layers, indicating involvement of a mechanism other than the change of lattice constants expected from an alloying effect. In this work, we present a model about Si dislocation interaction while debating other proposed models in the literature. According to our model, Si atoms are attracted to the strain dipole of edge-type dislocations in (Al)GaN films. It is expected that Si is more incorporated on that side of the dislocation, which is under compression leading to the formation of off-balanced dipoles with reduced compressive component. In response to such off-balanced dipoles—appearing as tensile dominant strain dipoles—the dislocation lines climb in order to accommodate the excess tensile strain. However, this dislocation climb mechanism is hindered by forces exerted by vacancies created due to the climb process. Accordingly, we have observed a lower strain level in our Si doped layers when they contain fewer dislocations. These findings were further supported by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and micro-photoluminescence investigations.
Structural, magnetic, and optical properties of Pr and Zr codoped BiFeO3 multiferroic ceramics
Authors: Chandra Sati Prakash , Arora Manisha , Chauhan Sunil , Chhoker Sandeep , Kumar Manoj
Published: November 2012

Single-phase (Bi1-xPrx)(Fe1-xZrx)O3 ceramics with x = 0.03, 0.06, 0.10 (named BPFZ-3, BPFZ-6, and BPFZ-10, respectively) were synthesized by solid state reaction method. X-ray diffraction suggested the pure phase formation with distorted rhombohedral structure in all samples. Raman spectroscopy also confirmed the rhombohedrally distorted perovskite structure with R3c symmetry. The x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements showed the absence of Fe2+ ions indicating the suppression of oxygen vacancies due to Pr and Zr codoping. Room temperature magnetic hysteresis loops revealed that the spontaneous magnetization increases due to structural distortion and partial destruction of spiral spin structure caused by the codoping in BiFeO3 ceramics. The maximum remnant magnetization of 0.1234 emu/g was observed for BPFZ-6 sample. Optical studies showed absorption of light in the visible region, with a red shift in energy band gap with increasing concentration of Pr and Zr in BiFeO3 ceramics. The broad absorption bands due to the overlapping of Fe-O and Bi-O groups’ vibrations were found in FTIR. Frequency independent dielectric constant and low dielectric loss at room temperature were observed for all samples.
Relation between the work function and Young's modulus of RhSi and estimate of Schottky-barrier height at RhSi/Si interface: An ab-initio study
Authors: Niranjan Manish K. , Waghmare Umesh V.
Published: November 2012

Density-functional calculations are performed to explore the relationship between the work function and Young's modulus of RhSi, and to estimate the p-Schottky-barrier height (SBH) at the Si/RhSi(010) interface. It is shown that the Young's modulus and the workfunction of RhSi satisfy the generic sextic relation, proposed recently for elemental metals. The calculated p-SBH at the Si/RhSi interface is found to differ only by 0.04 eV in opposite limits, viz., no-pinning and strong pinning. We find that the p-SBH is reduced as much as by 0.28 eV due to vacancies at the interface.