bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Microphysical Building Blocks of Low-Level Potential Vorticity Anomalies in an Idealized Extratropical Cyclone
Authors: Crezee Bas , Joos Hanna , Wernli Heini 
Published: February 2017

Abstract
Diabatically generated low-level potential vorticity (PV) anomalies in extratropical cyclones enhance near-surface winds and influence the cyclone’s development. Positive and negative PV anomalies in the warm-frontal region of an extratropical cyclone, simulated with an idealized moist baroclinic channel model, are investigated to identify the microphysical processes that produce them. Using a novel method based on backward trajectories from the PV anomalies, the contribution of different microphysical processes to the formation of the anomalies is quantified. It is found that, for each anomaly, typically one specific microphysical process takes the leading role in its diabatic generation. A large but rather weak low- and midlevel positive anomaly is produced by depositional growth of ice and snow. Two smaller but stronger positive anomalies at lower levels are generated mainly by in-cloud condensational heating at the warm front and below-cloud rain evaporation and snow melting 200 km farther north. In addition, near-surface negative anomalies are produced by snow melting and snow sublimation. In summary, this idealized study reveals that (i) a variety of microphysical processes are involved in generating the complex mesoscale PV structures along the warm front; (ii) the model representation of these processes, some of them still insufficiently understood and parameterized, therefore matters for an accurate prediction of these features; (iii) below-cloud processes are also relevant for PV anomalies located in clouds, owing to accumulation of diabatic PV tendencies along ascending air parcels; and (iv) the diabatic history of the air parcels is essential in order to explain the observed PV pattern.
On the Response of the Aleutian Low to Greenhouse Warming
Authors: Gan Bolan , Wu Lixin , Jia Fan , Li Shujun , Cai Wenju , Nakamura Hisashi , Alexander Michael A. , Miller Arthur J. 
Published: February 2017

Abstract
Past and future changes in the Aleutian low are investigated by using observation-based sea level pressure (SLP) datasets and CMIP5 models. It is found that the Aleutian low intensity, measured by the North Pacific Index (NPI), has significantly strengthened during the twentieth century, with the observed centennial trend double the modeled counterpart for the multimodel average of historical simulations, suggesting compound signals of anthropogenic warming and natural variability. As climate warms under the strongest future warming scenario, the climatological-mean Aleutian low will continue to intensify and expand northward, as manifested in the significant decrease (−1.3 hPa) of the multimodel-averaged NPI, which is 1.6 times its unforced internal variability, and the increase in the central area of low pressure (SLP &lt; 999.0 hPa), which expands about 7 times that in the twentieth century. A suite of idealized experiments further demonstrates that the deepening of the Aleutian low can be driven by an El Niño–like warming of the tropical Pacific sea surface temperature (SST), with a reduction in the climatological-mean zonal SST gradient, which overshadows the dampening effect of a weakened wintertime land–ocean thermal contrast on the Aleutian low change in a warmer climate. While the projected deepening of Aleutian low on multimodel average is robust, individual model portrayals vary primarily in magnitude. Intermodel difference in surface warming amplitude over the Asian continent, which is found to explain about 31% of the variance of the NPI changes across models, has a greater contribution than that in the spatial pattern of tropical Pacific SST warming (which explains about 23%) to model uncertainty in the projection of Aleutian low intensity.
La Niña–like Mean-State Response to Global Warming and Potential Oceanic Roles
Authors: Kohyama Tsubasa , Hartmann Dennis L. , Battisti David S. 
Published: February 2017

Abstract
The majority of the models that participated in phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project global warming experiments warm faster in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean than in the west. GFDL-ESM2M is an exception among the state-of-the-art global climate models in that the equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) in the west warms faster than in the east, and the Walker circulation strengthens in response to warming. This study shows that this “La Niña–like” trend simulated by GFDL-ESM2M could be a physically consistent response to warming, and that the forced response could have been detectable since the late twentieth century. Two additional models are examined: GFDL-ESM2G, which differs from GFDL-ESM2M only in the oceanic components, warms without a clear zonal SST gradient; and HadGEM2-CC exhibits a warming pattern that resembles the multimodel mean. A fundamental observed constraint between the amplitude of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the mean-state zonal SST gradient is reproduced well by GFDL-ESM2M but not by the other two models, which display substantially weaker ENSO nonlinearity than is observed. Under this constraint, the weakening nonlinear ENSO amplitude in GFDL-ESM2M rectifies the mean state to be La Niña–like. GFDL-ESM2M exhibits more realistic equatorial thermal stratification than GFDL-ESM2G, which appears to be the most important difference for the ENSO nonlinearity. On longer time scales, the weaker polar amplification in GFDL-ESM2M may also explain the origin of the colder equatorial upwelling water, which could in turn weaken the ENSO amplitude.
Love and compassion for the community: Emotions and practices among North Indian Muslims, c. 1870–1930
Authors: Pernau Margrit 
Published: February 2017

This article investigates how philosophical and ethical reflections, rhetorical strategies, and emotional practices intersect. In the first section, it lays out the traditional emotion knowledge found in Persian and Indo-Persian texts on moral philosophy written in the Aristotelian tradition, which still held an important place in the education of people writing in and reading journals like Aligarh’s Tahzību-l Akhlāq. The second section looks at the transformation of this knowledge in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and provides a close reading of texts that address education and self-education issues while simultaneously exhorting readers to feel more compassionate (and often to prove their compassion through specific actions). The last section, finally, uses the Punjabi traders of Delhi as a case study to show how practices of philanthropy contributed to community building. Compassion, the article argues, is a social emotion, but not necessarily an unequivocally benign emotion. It serves to construct a community and to negotiate its boundaries, but it is also a tool of exclusion and helps fortifying the communities’ internal hierarchies. The perception of the pain of others is as unequally distributed as the practices for its alleviation.
Treatment of foot varicose veins: A study of 119 consecutive patients
Authors: Albernaz Luiz Fernando , Albernaz Daiane Taís Schlindwein , Zignani Fernanda Rita Machado , Chi Yung-Wei 
Published: February 2017

Objective To analyze the outcomes of 119 (188 feet) patients undergoing foot varicose vein phlebectomy with and without sclerotherapy between 2013 and 2015. Methods Legs and feet were treated in one single procedure. Clinical and ultrasound assessments were carried out at 7, 30, and 90 days for visualization of the sapheno-femoral and sapheno-popliteal junctions and the deep vein system. Results Mean age was 50 ± 12 years (25–79 years); 67 patients were female (56.3%). Median venous clinical severity score was 4 (range 2–5) before and 1 (range 0–2) at 90 days ( p < 0.001). Edema and transient paresthesia were the most frequent complications (13 (10.92%) and 11 (9.24%) patients, respectively). All complications were resolved at 90 days except one case of edema (resolved after 150 days with compression stockings and lymphatic drainage manual therapy). Conclusions Symptomatic foot varicose vein intervention was safe and effective. Further studies should focus on assessment of vein-specific quality of life questionnaires.
Perceived stress and reported cognitive symptoms among Georgia patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Plantinga L , Lim S S , Bowling C B , Drenkard C 
Published: February 2017

Objective To examine associations of perceived stress with cognitive symptoms among adults with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods Among 777 adult (≥18 years) SLE patients, the association of Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) scores with two self-reported cognitive symptoms was examined: forgetfulness (severe/moderate vs. mild/none; from the Systemic Lupus Activity Questionnaire) and difficulty concentrating (all/most vs. some/little/none of the time; from the Lupus Impact Tracker). The study used multivariable logistic regression to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) per minimal important difference (MID = 0.5*SD) of PSS score and cognitive symptoms. Results Forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating were reported by 41.7% and 29.5%, respectively. Women and those with less education and high disease activity had higher PSS scores and were more likely to report cognitive symptoms than their counterparts. With adjustment for age, race, sex, education, and disease activity, each MID increase in PSS score was associated with higher prevalence of forgetfulness (OR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.29–1.47) and difficulty concentrating (OR = 2.19, 95% CI 1.90–2.52). No substantial differences in this association by age, race, sex, or disease activity were noted. Conclusions SLE patients, particularly those with high disease activity, report a high burden of cognitive symptoms, for which stress may be a modifiable risk factor.
Organ damage accrual and distribution in systemic lupus erythematosus patients followed-up for more than 10 years
Authors: Taraborelli M , Cavazzana I , Martinazzi N , Lazzaroni M Grazia , Fredi M , Andreoli L , Franceschini F , Tincani A 
Published: February 2017

Objective The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, predictors and progression of organ damage in a monocentric cohort of systemic lupus erythematosus patients with a long follow-up. Organ damage was assessed by the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics Damage Index one year after diagnosis and every five years. Disease activity was measured by the systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI)-2K at the beginning of the follow-up. Univariate and multivariable analyses were used to detect items associated with damage. A total of 511 systemic lupus erythematosus patients (92% females, 95% Caucasian), prospectively followed from 1972 to 2014, were included. Results After a mean disease duration of 16 years (SD: 9.5) and a mean follow-up of 12.9 years (SD: 8.8), 354 patients (69.3%) had accrued some damage: 49.7% developed mild/moderate damage, while 19.5% showed severe damage. Damage was evident in 40% of 511 patients one year after diagnosis, and its prevalence linearly increased over time. Longer disease duration, higher SLEDAI, severe Raynaud’s, chronic alopecia and cerebral ischaemia were significantly associated with organ damage. No associations between damage and autoantibodies, including anti-dsDNA, anti-Sm or antiphospholipid antibodies, were observed. Anyway, antiphospholipid syndrome and anticardiolipin antibodies predicted the development of neuropsychiatric damage. The ocular, musculoskeletal and neuropsychiatric systems were the most frequently damaged organs, with a linear increase during follow-up. Conclusion A high rate of moderate and severe damage has been detected early in a wide cohort of young lupus patients, with a linear trend of increase over time. Disease activity and long duration of disease predict damage, while antiphospholipid antibodies play a role in determining neuropsychiatric damage.
The critical role of myeloperoxidase in Streptococcus pneumoniae clearance and tissue damage during mouse acute otitis media
Authors: Xiang Yun , Jin Chunfang , Wang Wei , Wang Zimeng , Huang Yifei , Fan Fangmei , Ma Yurong , Zhang Xuemei , Xu Wenchun , Yin Yibing , He Yujuan 
Published: February 2017

We have recently reported that neutrophils play a pivotal role in innate defense against Streptococcus pneumoniae ( Spn) during mouse acute otitis media (AOM). However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. By constructing models of pneumococcal AOM in C57BL/6 mice and using a specific inhibitor in vivo, we investigated the role of myeloperoxidase (MPO), one of the most important protein components of neutrophils. Experiment results showed a significant increase in MPO production of the recruited neutrophils in Spn-infected mice. Neutrophils killed Spn in a MPO-dependent manner. MPO facilitated the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and consequently promoted Spn clearance at an early stage and exacerbated tissue damage. Moreover, MPO induced neutrophil apoptosis and necrosis, which, in turn, worsened tissue damage. In summary, our study demonstrates that neutrophil MPO plays a paradoxical role in bacterial clearance and tissue damage in pneumococcal AOM.
Attitudes and barriers towards HIV screening: A qualitative study of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Malaysia
Authors: Ahmed Syed Imran , Syed Sulaiman Syed Azhar , Hassali Mohamed Azmi , Thiruchelvam Kaeshaelya , Hasan Syed Shahzad , Lee Christopher KC 
Published: February 2017

Background: Understanding patients’ perspective towards HIV screening in Malaysia is pivotal to explore challenges faced by these individuals. This would be beneficial for developing local plans to improve the health-seeking behaviours among population at risk of HIV/AIDS. Methods: A qualitative research methodology was adopted to explore HIV/AIDS patients’ views about disease screening. A semi-structured interview guide was used for in-depth patient interviews. All interviews were audio-recorded and were subjected to a standard content analysis framework for data analysis. Results: Most patients were positive about screening and the value of knowing about their status early. However, fear of social stigma, discrimination, lack of support system and lack of public understanding were identified as major concerns affecting their willingness to be screened. They were concerned about mandatory screening being implemented without improvement in support system and public education. Conclusions: Reluctance to seek HIV screening is an important factor contributing to transmission in developing countries. In the Malaysian context, efforts should be made to strengthen screening strategies especially in the most-at-risk populations to monitor the epidemic and target prevention strategies. Practice implications: In a multicultural context, HIV preventive strategies must include disease awareness, including measure to tackle barriers towards screening.
Does Cognitive Radio Need Policy Innovation?
Authors: Anker Peter 
Published: February 2017

This contribution addresses the impact of cognitive radio on the regime of radio spectrum governance. To avoid harmful interference the current paradigm of spectrum governance uses the principle of separation. Thereby each application and user or user group is being assigned a specific part of the spectrum for a specific location. Cognitive radio defies this principle because cognitive radios monitor the spectrum and select an unused part for their transmission. This capability provides a new solution in addressing the issue of spectrum scarcity. However, its dynamic operating principle to access spectrum runs counter to the prevailing static spectrum management method. The focus of this contribution is on the implications of dynamic spectrum access for national and international spectrum policy in the light of the current practice of assignments based on (exclusive) usage rights and prescribed applications.
“DC for AC”… No Hard-Rock Band, but a New and Unregulated Business Model for Electricity Retail Markets
Authors: Bache Volker , Capito Ralf , Hasenkamp Christopher , Koenig Christian 
Published: February 2017

Even though the electricity retail markets have been liberalised for several years now, there is still a distinct lack of competition. The recent developments in the field of Smart Metering and a Smart Grid infrastructure, however, offer new opportunities to remedy this shortcoming. Therefore, in the following essay we would like to introduce and discuss a sample business model – which could be realised in the near future – utilising these new technologies: Delivery-by-Call (DC). The goal of DC is to make it possible to purchase electricity in an automated, digitally driven process for varying time frames from different suppliers. Basically, DC offers an alternative way of distribution for electricity suppliers, i.e. it enables them to sell their product to consumers using DC-services. The consumer benefit herein lies in the possibility to switch between competing suppliers present on the DC-platform within minutes, which enables them to profit from different tariffs of varying suppliers. Thus, DC could prove to be a catalyst for the Smart Grid development by providing a monetary incentive for households to insist on the installation of a Smart Meter.
How to Design a New Gas Bid Price Ladder?
Authors: de Bruijne Mark , Steenhuisen Bauke , Correljé Aad , ten Heuvelhof Ernst , de Vries Laurens 
Published: February 2017

In liberalization policies for network industries market design is primarily considered and approached as a technical and economic design problem. Market design should support an efficient, fair, robust and reliable provision of commodities. Pursuing these goals, technical and economic parameters of market design are commonly analyzed and combined, drawing on more or less explicit theoretical notions, resulting in specific and elaborate market design rules. A second and much less-stressed facet of market design is that these processes are important arenas in which stakeholders seek to influence the future contours of the market. A wide variety of opinions among stakeholders and experts exists with regard to these end-goals, the consequences of design choices and outcomes in terms of performance. Consequently, market designs are fiercely contested, highly politicized and arduous, lengthy processes. This article discusses research that was conducted to facilitate the design of a specific component of the new Dutch gas market balancing regime: the bid price ladder design to purchase and sell deficit and excess volumes of gas. The article concludes that market design processes can be considered complex wicked problems instead of economic and/or technical optimization problems. Finally, the article discusses the implications of this conclusion for the market design process.
Practical Approaches to USO Costing and Financing
Authors: Jaag Christian , Trinkner Urs , Lisle John , Waghe Navin , van der Merwe Erik 
Published: February 2017

Traditionally, universal services in network industries have relied on granting the universal service provider a reserved area. Current liberalization policies promoting competitive entry may put the traditional universal service and its financing at risk. Hence, there is an increased interest in estimating the cost of universal service provision. In the postal sector, the Third EC Directive proposes a calculation approach to determine the net cost of a universal service obligation and to compensate the universal service provider (USP). In this paper, we discuss various implementations of the costing and financing of USO based on profitability cost and argue that a holistic approach is appropriate to meet the core requirements of consistency and robustness.
Looking towards Europe: Regulation of Dominance in Nigerian Telecommunications
Authors: Opata Chukwudiebube Bede Abraham 
Published: February 2017

Nigeria is yet to enact generally applicable competition laws. However, in the telecommunications sector, sector-specific competition rules were enacted with the regulator taking steps including determination of dominance in selected markets to enforce these rules. These developments are important in Nigeria as they could provide good domestic references for future application of both general competition law in Nigeria and sector-specific application of competition rules in other network industries in the country. Furthermore, with regulatory determinations of dominance relatively rare in national communications sectors of African countries, Nigerian regulatory decisions are likely to be of interest to operators and regulators in other countries within the Sub-Saharan Africa region. This article critically analyzes regulation of dominant positions in the Nigerian telecommunications sector. It identifies the relevant legal provisions on dominant positions in Nigerian telecommunications and shows that while the Nigerian Communications Commission's (NCC) approach in this area appears to be influenced by European Union (EU) law, the Nigerian rules have developed and are applied in a way different from the application of comparable EU rules. Furthermore, the article also identifies a need for revision of the applicable regulations to stipulate the basis for market selection and refine criteria for identification of the relevant market for purposes of dominance analysis. The article further identifies specific issues with the NCC's application of criteria for single dominance assessment including; an apparent misapplication of the market shares criterion; very little of the NCC's assessment is backed by available data and supporting evidence; and the entire assessment focused on application of its six criteria to the retail aspects of the mobile markets with the wholesale market is completely ignored. With regards to International Internet Connectivity market, this article argues that NCC's decision to rely only on ex-post regulatory intervention in line with the practice in other jurisdictions failed to appreciate the differences in the legal basis for regulatory action between Nigeria and the EU for instance. The EU has separate provisions for sector-specific ex ante regulation and general ex post competition laws, while Nigeria only has sector-specific prescriptive regulations governing dominant positions. This entails that reliance only on as yet nonexistence ex post basis for regulatory intervention would leave Nigerian service providers without a remedy.
Corporate Governance and the State
Authors: Mueller Dennis C. 
Published: February 2017

Pick up any first-year textbook in economics, and you will see that the analysis of pricing and other decisions by firms is based on the assumption that they maximize profits. More generally, when economists talk about the advantages of market economies – invisible hands and the like – they are implicitly assuming that managers maximize profits or shareholder wealth. Some 80 years ago, Berle and Means (1932) called this assumption into question by documenting the existence of a separation of ownership and control. Their main concern was that this separation of ownership from control would free managers to essentially rob the owners of the firm. The recent histories of firms like Enron, WorldCom, and Parmalat show that such fears remain well founded even today. The existence of a separation of ownership from control potentially gives rise to a host of principal/agent problems, which go beyond managers simply stealing from shareholders. I begin by discussing some of these as they manifest themselves in the private sector, turn after that to state-controlled companies, and end with a discussion of corporate governance problems in regulated industries.