bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Polar Summer Tropopause Inversion Layer
Authors: Randel William J. , Wu Fei 
Published: April 2010

Abstract
Temperature profiles in polar latitudes during summer reveal a strong and persistent inversion layer associated with the polar summer tropopause. This inversion layer is characterized by a temperature increase of ∼8 K in the first 2–3 km above the tropopause and is observed throughout summer polar latitudes in both hemispheres. Radiosonde and GPS radio occultation temperature observations are used to document characteristics of the inversion layer, including its seasonal variability and modulation by synoptic meteorological systems (cyclones and anticyclones). Previous analyses have suggested a radiative mechanism for formation and maintenance of tropopause inversions, related to water vapor and ozone near the tropopause. Fixed dynamical heating (FDH) calculations are used herein to investigate this behavior in polar regions, based on observed seasonally varying profiles of water vapor (from satellite measurements) and ozone (from ozonesondes). Water vapor exhibits a strong seasonal cycle throughout the troposphere and lowest stratosphere, with a pronounced summer maximum, which is primarily a result of the seasonally varying tropospheric temperatures. The FDH calculations suggest that enhanced summer water vapor leads to strong radiative cooling in a narrow layer near the tropopause, so that the radiative influence of water vapor provides a primary mechanism for the summer inversion layer.
Automated Retrievals of Precipitation Parameters Using Non-Rayleigh Scattering at 95 GHz
Authors: Giangrande Scott E. , Luke Edward P. , Kollias Pavlos 
Published: April 2010

Abstract
Automated retrievals of vertical air motion and the drop size distribution (DSD) slope parameter from the surface to the base of the melting layer are presented using a technique for W-band (95 GHz) profiling radars. The technique capitalizes on non-Rayleigh resonance signatures found in the observed Doppler spectra to estimate the mean vertical air motion. The slope parameter of the DSD for an assumed exponential form is retrieved through an inversion of the Doppler spectra. Extended testing is performed in central Oklahoma for a monthlong period of observation that includes several midlatitude convective line trailing stratiform events featuring low to moderate rainfall rates (&lt;1 to 30 mm h−1). Low-level DSD slope parameter retrievals are shown in agreement (bias of −1.48 cm−1 and rms error of 4.38 cm−1) with collocated surface disdrometer DSD observations. Velocity retrievals indicate a net downward motion in stratiform rain of 0.05 m s−1 with a standard deviation of 0.24–0.3 m s−1. Time–height examples drawn from the available dataset illustrate finescale structures, as well as evidence of drop sorting due to differential terminal velocity and wind shear.
Radiance Comparisons of MODIS and AIRS Using Spatial Response Information
Authors: Schreier M. M. , Kahn B. H. , Eldering A. , Elliott D. A. , Fishbein E. , Irion F. W. , Pagano T. S. 
Published: April 2010

Abstract
The combination of multiple satellite instruments on a pixel-by-pixel basis is a difficult task, even for instruments collocated in space and time, such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on board the Earth Observing System (EOS) Aqua. Toward the goal of an improved collocation methodology, the channel- and scan angle–dependent spatial response functions of AIRS that were obtained from prelaunch measurements and calculated impacts from scan geometry are shown within the context of radiance comparisons. The AIRS spatial response functions are used to improve the averaging of MODIS radiances to the AIRS footprint, and the variability of brightness temperature differences (ΔTb) between MODIS and AIRS are quantified on a channel-by-channel basis. To test possible connections between ΔTb and the derived level 2 (L2) datasets, cloud characteristics derived from MODIS are used to highlight correlations between these quantities and ΔTb, especially for ice clouds in H2O and CO2 bands. Furthermore, correlations are quantified for temperature lapse rate (dT/dp) and the magnitude of water vapor mixing ratio (q) obtained from AIRS L2 retrievals. Larger values of dT/dp and q correlate well to larger values of ΔTb in the H2O and CO2 bands. These correlations were largely eliminated or reduced after the MODIS spectral response functions were shifted by recommended values. While this investigation shows that the AIRS spatial response functions are necessary to reduce the variability and skewness of ΔTb within heterogeneous scenes, improved knowledge about MODIS spectral response functions is necessary to reduce biases in ΔTb.
Relationships between Large-Scale Regime Transitions and Major Cool-Season Precipitation Events in the Northeastern United States
Authors: Archambault Heather M. , Keyser Daniel , Bosart Lance F. 
Published: April 2010

Abstract
This observational study investigates statistical and synoptic–dynamic relationships between regime transitions, defined as a North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) or Pacific–North American pattern (PNA) index change from at least a 1 standard deviation anomaly to at least a 1 standard deviation anomaly of opposite sign within 7 days, and cool-season (November–April) northeastern U.S. (NE) precipitation. A statistical analysis is performed of daily cool-season NE precipitation during all NAO and PNA transitions for 1948–2003, and a composite analysis and case study of a major cool-season NE precipitation event occurring during a positive-to-negative NAO transition are conducted. Datasets used are the 0.25° NCEP Unified Precipitation Dataset, the 2.5° NCEP–NCAR reanalysis, and the 1.125° 40-yr ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-40).
Results of the statistical analysis suggest that cool-season NE precipitation tends to be enhanced during positive-to-negative NAO and negative-to-positive PNA transitions, and suppressed during negative-to-positive NAO and positive-to-negative PNA transitions. Of the four types of regime transitions, only the positive-to-negative NAO transition is associated with substantially more frequent major cool-season NE precipitation events compared to climatology. Results of the composite analysis and case study indicate that a surface cyclone and cyclonic wave breaking associated with the major NE precipitation event can help produce a high-latitude blocking pattern over the North Atlantic characteristic of a negative NAO pattern via thermal advection, potential vorticity transport, and diabatic processes.
An Analysis of the Relationship between Weather and Aggressive Crime in Cleveland, Ohio
Authors: Butke Paul , Sheridan Scott C. 
Published: April 2010

AbstractThis study investigated the relationship between weather and aggressive crime for the period from 1999 through 2004 for the city of Cleveland, Ohio. The majority of the analysis focused on meteorological summer (June–August), because this is the time when the most oppressive conditions occur. Citywide analysis (nonspatial) was performed for many temporal variations, which accounted for season, time of day, and day of week (weekend or weekday). The linear regression model explored the relationship between apparent temperature and aggressive crime counts. Results show that summer has the highest aggressive crime counts, while winter has the lowest crime counts. Aggressive crime generally increases linearly as apparent temperature increases, with nonaggravated assaults and domestic violence assaults having the largest response as the weather becomes hotter. The midday and early night hours (i.e., 0300–1200 LT) have the greatest significant findings relating apparent temperature to aggressive crime.Further analysis was performed at the subcity level. A threshold of mean apparent temperature of 24°C was used in order to investigate spatial patterns of aggressive crime when it is “hot” compared to when it is “cold.” Overall, the spatial patterns of crime counts are minimally influenced by hotter weather. Despite the numerous different spatial analyses that were performed, there was no significant evidence suggesting that spatial patterns of aggressive crime are greatly affected by hotter weather. Rather, it appears that warmer weather brings relatively similar percentage increases in aggressive crime activity citywide. Further exploration and analysis of the weather–crime relationship could be of significant benefit to law enforcement officials and emergency response personnel, who increasingly use geographic information system (GIS)-based tools in their work to assist in determining where and when intervention is most beneficial.
Reforming the staffing process in the European Union institutions: moving the sacred cow out of the road
Authors: Ban Carolyn 
Published: April 2010

Since the 1960s, the EU institutions have relied on a system of open competitions (or concours ) for hiring staff, with only incremental changes. That system is now undergoing a major reform that is currently in the implementation phase. A policy analysis approach explains how the leadership of the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) overcame resistance to change. Analysis from a public management and political sociology perspective sheds light on the challenges EPSO faces in the implementation and evaluation of the reform. Points for practitioners One strength of the EU staffing model is the active role of EU staff in selecting their peers through the use of Selection Boards. The new system maintains staff involvement while professionalizing the Selection Boards. The reform was responsive to complaints by managers and heads of EU institutions with a slow, complex, and antiquated system, and it is they, as key clients, who will ultimately evaluate the effectiveness of the reform in enabling them to hire top-quality staff more quickly.
Welcome to the Court
Authors: Morin Danielle 
Published: April 2010

The French Cour des comptes is one of the numerous Supreme Audit Institutions which oversee proper use of public funds. This research project on the Cour des comptes is intended notably to establish how the Court has integrated the broad principles governing the function of supreme audit institutions (SAI) as established in the Lima Declaration adopted in 1977 by the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), which France signed, together with nearly 190 other countries. We conclude with an examination of the risks inherent in the Court’s necessary passage from tradition to modernity at the dawn of the twenty-first century, and of its capacity to change its world vision. The analysis of the way in which the Court has integrated the broad principles governing the operation of supreme audit institutions has brought to light serious flaws in the Court’s invariant structures, flaws which necessitate a recomposition, in the sense put forward by Jean-François Kahn (2006). The recomposition of the Court’s invariant structure heralds a revolution at its core. Tradition, prestige, ritual and symbolism can no longer serve as ramparts against modernity and its imperatives of accelerating change. The Court’s very survival as a credible and effective supreme audit institution is therefore at stake. Points for practitioners The equidistant position that the Court claims to maintain between Parliament and the Government is a theoretical concept whose applicability remains to be proven. The Court’s status of financial jurisdiction contradicts the flux of its activities: the proportion of jurisdictional activities is giving way to non-jurisdictional activities from year to year. The apparent neutrality of the magistrates of the Court can be questioned in light of the successive appointments of the First Presidents of the Court in the last two decades. The professionalization of the mission of the Court will inevitably prompt a reexamination of the status of the magistrate and the skills newly required to successfully carry out the unprecedented mandates conferred on the Court.
Are we being served? A critical perspective on Canada’s Citizens First satisfaction surveys
Authors: Howard Cosmo 
Published: April 2010

Background: Citizen satisfaction surveys are used in many jurisdictions to measure attitudes towards public services and inform service delivery improvement strategies. Canada is regarded as a world leader in the field due to its internationally influential Citizens First surveys. Aim: This study aims to determine the soundness of the design, execution and reporting of Canada’s Citizens First surveys. Method: It presents a critical methodological review drawing on several social scientific paradigms including survey research, interpretivism and post-structuralism. Results: The Citizens First surveys contain significant problems in terms of sample representativeness, validity of causal claims and treatment of subjective opinions. These surveys can also be criticized for the influence they have had on the direction of public service reforms. Survey findings have been invoked to support the shift to private sector models of delivery and encourage a narrow and passive view of the role of the citizen in official decision-making. These developments conflict with other realities and values in contemporary administration and governance. Conclusion: Canada’s citizen satisfaction surveys contain important methodological weaknesses which must be acknowledged and rectified if reformers wish to extend the scope and effectiveness of current service delivery innovations. Points for practitioners Canada’s citizen satisfaction surveys are widely regarded as models for other jurisdictions to follow, yet they have significant limitations, including very low response rates, which mean the findings are not representative of the population’s views on government service delivery. Although the surveys claim to identify the specific elements of service delivery that cause increases in general citizen satisfaction with the performance of governments, the existing methodology does not permit such assertions. These surveys present a private-sector-inspired view of the service user as a customer, and suggest that all users of government services value the same things. This view fails to capture the diversity of government service delivery and is particularly inappropriate in complex policy areas such as human and social services.
The new Charter System in Ghana: the ‘holy grail’ of public service delivery?
Authors: Ohemeng Frank Louis Kwaku 
Published: April 2010

Public services delivery has been at the forefront of public sector reforms in many countries throughout the past three decades. Invariably, the desire is to do more with less, empower citizens, enhance transparency, and hold public servants accountable. Many countries have therefore developed a number of service delivery mechanisms over the years to achieve this objective. A good example is the Citizen’s Charter System. First developed in the United Kingdom, the idea quickly spread to other developed countries and, more recently, to some developing countries as well. Ghana has followed the lead taken by these countries by developing its own Citizen’s Charter, which is believed to be the ‘holy grail’ of service delivery in the public sector. The article attempts to examine the Citizen’s Charter, evaluate its rationale, and any challenges that may be faced in its implementation. It argues that there are a number of constraints, which the government should have addressed before establishing the Charter. The government’s failure to address these challenges, it is argued, will significantly affect the success of the program. Points for practitioners In the last few decades, governments in both developed and developing countries have been searching for better delivery mechanisms for public services. One such mechanism is the Citizen’s Charter, which has become popular in the developed world as a means of achieving efficient, effective, and accountable service delivery. More recently, it has also become popular in some developing countries. The implementation of a Citizen’s Charter requires a solid understanding of the capacity of a state’s public sector; however, in many developing countries, this sector is characteristically weak. It is important, therefore, for practitioners to understand the limits of the public sector in any given state, and the barrier it may pose to the successful implementation of service delivery mechanisms.
Synthesis of Liquid Crystal Molecules Based on Bis(biphenyl)diacetylene and Their Liquid Crystallinity
Authors: Uchimura Makoto , Kang Sungmin , Ishige Rohei , Watanabe Junji , Konishi Gen-ichi 
Published: April 2010

Abstract
We synthesized novel liquid crystalline molecules that contain a bis(biphenyl)diacetylene mesogen and confirmed their structures by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and FT-IR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. These compounds formed thermotropic liquid crystals in a wide temperature region that was well characterized by optical microscopic and X-ray measurements.
Theoretical Investigation on the Origin of the CD Signal Reversal for the Closed-ring Isomer of Diarylethene with Peripherical π-Conjugated Substituents
Authors: Hirose Takashi , Hasegawa Jun-ya , Matsuda Kenji 
Published: April 2010

Abstract
Theoretical investigation was performed on the CD signal of the closed-ring isomer of diarylethene with an extended π-conjugated substituent. The result showed that the different contribution of the substituent to the transition electronic and magnetic dipole moments induces CD signal reversal. The obtained finding can be applied to general dyes with a chiral core and extended π-conjugated substituents.
Synthesis of Linked Symmetric [3]Rotaxane Having an Oligomeric Phenylene–Ethynylene Unit as a π Guest via Double Sonogashira Cross-coupling
Authors: Terao Jun , Wadahama Akihisa , Fujihara Tetsuaki , Tsuji Yasushi 
Published: April 2010

Abstract
Linked symmetric [3]rotaxanes consisting of an oligomeric phenylene–ethynylene (OPE) unit as a π-conjugated guest and two molecules of organic soluble permethylated α-cyclodextrins (PM α-CDs) as macrocyclic hosts have been synthesized by intramolecular self-inclusion of an OPE guest moiety carrying PM α-CDs followed by double cross-coupling reaction with 1,4-diiodobenzene under the Sonogashira coupling conditions. The structure of thus formed rotaxane was determined by MALDI-TOF mass spectrum and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy.
Synthesis and Characterization of 1,8-Carbazole-based π-Conjugated Copolymer with Zigzagged Conformation for Stable Deep-blue Emission
Authors: Liu Ran-Ran , Lin Zong-Qiong , Shi Nai-En , Zhao Jian-Feng , Hou Xiao-Ya , Qian Yan , Xie Ling-Hai , Huang Wei 
Published: April 2010

Abstract
1,8-Dibromocarbazole was employed to construct zigzagged conformation via the Suzuki-type cross-coupling polycondensation. Model copolymer, poly(Cz1,8-co-F), showed deep-blue 420 nm emission in thin film. Air-annealing experiments for 18 h at 200 °C with a low green index (IGreen/IBlue) of 0.38 indicated the introduction of nonlinear zigzag-shaped 1,8-dibromocarbazole building blocks into polyfluorene (PF) clearly improved spectral stabilities.
Assignment of the Absolute Configurations of 1-Aryl-2-propanols with the Use of Phosphoroselenoyl Chlorides as Chiral Derivatizing Agents
Authors: Murai Toshiaki , Tsuji Hiromi , Imaizumi Satoko , Maruyama Toshifumi 
Published: April 2010

Abstract
Phosphoroselenoyl chloride bearing a 1,1′-bi-2-naphthyl group was reacted with racemic 2-alkanols to give the corresponding esters. Based on the multiple combination of their NMR spectra, a method for the assignment of the absolute configuration of 1-aryl-2-propanols was established. The solid-state conformations of the esters were confirmed by X-ray structure analyses.
Microstructural and Mechanical Properties of Boron Carbide Ceramics by Methanol Washed Powder
Authors: Ahn Jong Pil , Kim Kyoung Hun , Park Joo Seok , Chae Jae Hong , So Sung Min , Kim Hyung Sun 
Published: April 2010

AbstractBoron carbide (B4C) is currently used in lightweight armors and high temperature materials, because it has high meting point, good hardness, low specific gravity and good mechanical properties. The sintering of boron carbide, however, is restricted by its high covalent bonding and B2O3coatings on B4C particles surface which can cause a microstructural coarsening during sintering. Therefore, it is necessary to remove B2O3film of By4C particles surface to restrict microstructural coarsening and densification of B4C. B4C ceramics were fabricated by a hot-press sintering and its sintering behavior, microstructure and mechanical properties were evaluated. The relative density of B4C ceramics were obtained by a hot-press sintering reached as high as 99% without any sintering additives. The mechanical properties of B4C ceramics was improved by a methanol washing which can remove B2O3phase from a B4C powder surface. This improvement is resulted from the formation of homogeneous microstructure because the grain coarsening was suppressed by the elimination of B2O3phase. Particularly, the mechanical properties of the sintered samples using a methanol washed powder improved compared with the samples using an as-received commercial powder.
Long-Range Structural Regularities and Collectivity of Folded Proteins
Authors: Atilgan Canan , Inanc Ibrahim , Atilgan Ali Rana 
Published: April 2010

AbstractCoarse-grained network models of proteins successfully predict equilibrium properties related to collective modes of motion. In this study, the network construction strategies and their systematic application to proteins are used to explain the role of network models in defining the collective properties of the system. The analysis is based on the radial distribution function, a newly defined angular distribution function and the spectral dimensions of a large set of globular proteins. Our analysis shows that after reaching a certain threshold for cut-off distance, network construction has negligible effect on the collective motions and the fluctuation patterns of the residues.
Probabilistic application of a fugacity model to predict triclosan fate during wastewater treatment
Authors: Bock Michael , Lyndall Jennifer , Barber Timothy , Fuchsman Phyllis , Perruchon Elyse , Capdevielle Marie 
Published: April 2010

Abstract
The fate and partitioning of the antimicrobial compound, triclosan, in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is evaluated using a probabilistic fugacity model to predict the range of triclosan concentrations in effluent and secondary biosolids. The WWTP model predicts 84% to 92% triclosan removal, which is within the range of measured removal efficiencies (typically 70% to 98%). Triclosan is predominantly removed by sorption and subsequent settling of organic particulates during primary treatment and by aerobic biodegradation during secondary treatment. Median modeled removal efficiency due to sorption is 40% for all treatment phases and 31% in the primary treatment phase. Median modeled removal efficiency due to biodegradation is 48% for all treatment phases and 44% in the secondary treatment phase. Important factors contributing to variation in predicted triclosan concentrations in effluent and biosolids include influent concentrations, solids concentrations in settling tanks, and factors related to solids retention time. Measured triclosan concentrations in biosolids and non-United States (US) effluent are consistent with model predictions. However, median concentrations in US effluent are over-predicted with this model, suggesting that differences in some aspect of treatment practices not incorporated in the model (e.g., disinfection methods) may affect triclosan removal from effluent. Model applications include predicting changes in environmental loadings associated with new triclosan applications and supporting risk analyses for biosolids-amended land and effluent receiving waters. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2010;6:393–404. © 2010 SETAC