bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Commonwealth Local Government Forum: An Overview
Authors: Slack Lucy 
Published: February 2015

The Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) was established in 1994, coinciding with rapid moves towards decentralisation at that time, especially in Commonwealth Africa. It uniquely brings together national associations of local government and individual councils, ministries responsible for local government, and training and research institutes with an interest in local government, on a common platform. This reflects an understanding that local government needs effective central government and vice versa if decentralisation is to be truly successful, and that research, training and practice need to be brought together in a constructive and creative way.CLGF’s developmental work can be divided into three main categories:Promotion and advocacy of local democracy and good governanceExchange of experienceCapacity building This article provides a brief overview of the activities and projects which CLGF has underway in respect of these objectives. It will be complemented by more detailed papers on specific programmes and projects in this and future issues of the Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance.
Adjuvant Chemoradiotherapy in Gastric Cancer: A Pooled Analysis of the AIRO Gastrointestinal Group Experience
Authors: Mattiucci Gian Carlo , Valentini Chiara , D'Agostino Giuseppe Roberto , Augurio Antonietta , Capirci Carlo , De Paoli Antonino , Genovesi Domenico , Huscher Alessandra , Iannone Tiziana , Pani Giuseppe , Rosetto Maria Elena , Sciacero Piera , Manfrida Stefania , Corazzi Francesca , Fusco Vincenzo , Luppattelli Marco , Mangiacotti Maria Grazia , Melano Antonella , Murino Paola , Nespolo Rita , Osti Mattia Falchetto , Picardi Vincenzo , Morganti Alessio Giuseppe , Valentini Vincenzo 
Published: February 2015

Background Given the poor compliance with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in gastric cancer reported in previous studies, a survey was conducted among 18 Italian institutions within the AIRO Gastrointestinal Group to investigate current treatment modalities, toxicities, and compliance with adjuvant CRT. Patients and Methods Data from 348 patients operated on for gastric cancer were collected retrospectively from September 2000 to June 2008 and analyzed. The adjuvant treatments included CRT according to center guidelines. In multivariate analysis, acute hematological, gastrointestinal, and renal toxicity (according to the RTOG Acute Radiation Morbidity Scoring Criteria) and compliance with treatment were studied, as well as risk factors for local control, metastasis-free survival, disease-free survival, and overall survival. Results Compliance with treatment was excellent: 95.7% of patients completed CRT. During CRT, acute G3-G4 hematological toxicity was 3.7% and acute G3-G4 gastrointestinal toxicity 4%. 78.4% of patients completed chemotherapy (CT), either before or after CRT. During CT acute G3-G4 hematological toxicity was 5.4% and acute G3-G4 gastrointestinal toxicity 6%. Overall, 74.1% of patients completed the prescribed treatment (CRT and CT). Doses greater than 4500 cGy did not compensate for more aggressive disease. The 5-year overall survival was 51%. Conclusions The adjuvant treatment of gastric cancer within the AIRO group was diverse, but radiotherapy treatment was homogeneous (in terms of technique) and well tolerated. Toxicity was low and compliance with treatment was good during CRT; these results may be due to the radiotherapy technique applied. This survey could be used as a benchmark for further studies.
Mahmoud Darwish:
Authors: SAZZAD REHNUMA 
Published: February 2015

Abstract
Darwish's poetry transcends the national boundary to highlight universal values of life and love through mirroring the Palestinian tragedy. This is well reflected in Memory and “The Hoopoe.” By discussing the stylistic and thematic aspects of the prose poetry and the poem, I highlight Darwish's steadfast commitment to truth and beauty. My discussion aims at demarcating the transition taking place in Darwish's poetic universe toward a more metaphysically poised aesthetics. At the same time, I show how his aesthetics did not allow him to abandon his hope for a better future in his conflict-stricken land. In the end, his language gives him the guarantee of a metaphorical abode in the absence of a physical one, since his poetry upholds the humanist values he stands for.
Conjugate observations of traveling convection vortices associated with transient events at the magnetopause
Authors: Kim H. , Clauer C. R. , Engebretson M. J. , Matzka J. , Sibeck D. G. , Singer H. J. , Stolle C. , Weimer D. R. , Xu Z. 
Published: February 2015

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

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

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

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

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

AbstractThere is a large diversity in simulated aerosol forcing among models that participated in the fifth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, particularly related to aerosol interactions with clouds. Here we use the reported model data and fitted aerosol‐cloud relations to separate the main sources of inter‐model diversity in the magnitude of the cloud albedo effect. There is a large diversity in the global load and spatial distribution of sulfate aerosol, as well as in global mean cloud top effective radius. The use of different parameterizations of aerosol‐cloud interactions makes the largest contribution to diversity in modeled radiative forcing (−39%, +48% about the mean estimate). Uncertainty in preindustrial sulfate load also makes a substantial contribution (−15%, +61% about the mean estimate), with smaller contributions from inter‐model differences in the historical change in sulfate load and in mean cloud fraction.
A critical review of the mean measure of divergence and Mahalanobis distances using artificial data and new approaches to the estimation of biodistances employing nonmetric traits
Authors: Nikita Efthymia 
Published: February 2015

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

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

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

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

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

AbstractTernary core–shell heterostructured rutile@anatase@CrxOy nanorod arrays were elaborately designed as photoanodes for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting under visible‐light illumination. The four‐fold enhanced and stabilized visible‐light photocurrent highlights the unique role of the interim anatase layer in accelerating the interfacial charge transfer from the CrxOy chromophore to rutile nanorods.
Reversible Modification of the Structural and Electronic Properties of a Boron Nitride Monolayer by CO Intercalation
Authors: Ng May Ling , Shavorskiy Andrey , Rameshan Christoph , Mikkelsen Anders , Lundgren Edvin , Preobrajenski Alexei , Bluhm Hendrik 
Published: February 2015

AbstractWe demonstrate the reversible intercalation of CO between a hexagonal boron nitride (h‐BN) monolayer and a Rh(111) substrate above a threshold CO pressure of 0.01 mbar at room temperature. The intercalation of CO results in the flattening of the originally corrugated h‐BN nanomesh and an electronic decoupling of the BN layer from the Rh substrate. The intercalated CO molecules assume a coverage and adsorption site distribution comparable to that on the free Rh(111) surface at similar conditions. The pristine h‐BN nanomesh is reinstated upon heating to above 625 K. These observations may open up opportunities for a reversible tuning of the electronic and structural properties of monolayer BN films.