bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
UV and global solar radiation in Łódź, Central Poland
Authors: Podstawczyńska Agnieszka 
Published: March 2009

AbstractWith the overall aim of quantifying urban atmospheric effects on different parts of the solar spectrum, a multi year analysis of data collected at Łódź was undertaken. UV (290–400 nm) and global solar radiation measured by means of a Kipp and Zonen CUV3 radiometer and a Kipp and Zonen CM11 pyranometer in the center of Łódź between 1997 and 2001 are analysed. The mean annual sum of global and UV solar radiation equaled 3710.8 MJ m−2 and 154.1 MJ m−2, respectively. The minimum monthly total of solar energy occurred in December (48.7 M Jm−2—global; 2.1 MJ m−2—UV); however, the maximum monthly total occurred atypically in May (620.9 MJ m−2—global; 25.3 MJ m−2—UV). UV clearness index (Kuv) is approximately half of the clearness index of the global solar radiation, indicating greater attenuation of that part of the spectrum (Kuv 0.14 in December to 0.26 in May). A linear regression model was fitted to the daily values of UV and global (g) solar irradiation (Duv = a + Dgb). The slope coefficient b and the coefficient of determination equal 0.039 and 0.98, respectively. Cloudiness exerts an important control on the solar radiation flux at the ground level and for the relation between UV and global solar radiation. The convective clouds caused an increase of global and UV solar irradiance by about 10–20% compared to clear days, the enhancement resulting from reflections. On clear days, UV comprises 3.3–4% of global solar irradiance (10‐min values) on average, while during cloudy weather it increases to 8%. The results presented have implications for understanding the radiative transfer of UV and global solar radiation in the atmosphere over an urban area and the influence of clouds on transmission of solar radiation flux. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society
An analytical framework for estimating the urban effect on climate
Authors: Lamptey Benjamin 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe surface energy budget has been used to illustrate the influence of urban landscape on both global and regional climate. This was done using empirical as well as remotely sensed data of components of the surface energy equation.At the global scale, the urban land cover has the least impact on the sensible and latent heat fluxes compared to the other land cover types. Replacing the urban land cover with vegetation did not result in a significant change to the proportionate values of the turbulent fluxes originally due to vegetation. The least impact of current urbanization on the global climate in terms of radiation and surface fluxes is because the urban land cover has the smallest fraction of all the land cover types.The relative importance of the urban landscape at the regional scale was illustrated using the example of Chester County and surroundings near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the USA. The urban effect becomes more important as the fraction of urban land cover to the total increases. This is illustrated by computing turbulent fluxes for 1987, 1988, 1991, 1993 and 1996 over the Chester County area. Urbanization in Chester County and surrounding areas increased from 11% in 1987 to 19% in 1996. In 1996, urban land cover produced the largest proportionate sensible (21.4 Wm−2) and latent (14.2 Wm−2) heat fluxes during winter. During the 1996 summer, urban and vegetation land cover produced the largest proportionate sensible heat (59.2 Wm−2) while urban land cover produced the second largest proportionate latent heat flux (39.5 Wm−2). The implications of this simple analytical study point to the need to account for the urban landscape particularly in regional studies. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society
Comparison of different phosphorus‐fertiliser matrices to induce the recovery of phosphorus‐deficient maize plants
Authors: Erro Javier , Zamarreño Angel M , Garcia‐Mina Jose M , Yvin Jean‐Claude 
Published: March 2009

AbstractBACKGROUND: Previous studies have demonstrated the capacity of a new type of mineral fertiliser, known as rhizosphere‐controlled fertiliser (RCF), to supply adequate nutrition to plants while minimising nutrient losses. This fertiliser family is based on the presence a phosphoric matrix composed of metal–humic–phosphates, soluble not in water but in the rhizospheric acids released by plant roots as an expression of nutritional needs, principally citric acid. The aim of this study is to investigate the capacity of the RCF matrix and other phosphorus‐containing products to induce the recovery of phosphorus‐deficient maize plants.RESULTS: The results showed that RCF‐based P fertilisers were able to facilitate plant recovery, measured by the dry root and shoot weights, to the same extent as a water‐soluble P fertiliser (monopotassium phosphate). This fact was well correlated to both the variation pattern of citric and trans‐aconitic acids in the shoot and roots during the treatment, and P shoot and root contents. Likewise the analysis of the variation of P concentration in the nutrient solution during the treatment indicates that plant recovery is associated with the capacity of the plant to mobilise P from the different fertiliser matrices studied.CONCLUSION: These results confirm the findings obtained in previous in vitro studies and indicate the suitability of RCF strategy for the preparation of mineral fertilisers with a nutrient release pattern more sensitive to plant nutritional needs. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry
Comparison of phenolic acids in organically and conventionally grown pac choi (Brassica rapa L. chinensis)
Authors: Zhao Xin , Nechols James R , Williams Kimberly A , Wang Weiqun , Carey Edward E 
Published: March 2009

AbstractBACKGROUND: Field and greenhouse studies were performed to investigate whether organic production methods influenced levels of phenolic acid compounds in pac choi (Brassica rapa L. chinensis cv. Mei Qing Choi) compared with conventional cultivation.RESULTS: In the field experiment, organic fertilisation (compost + fish emulsion) resulted in significantly higher phenolic concentrations compared with conventional fertilisation (NPK + CaNO3) under both high tunnel and open field environments. Increased phenolics were accompanied by a significant reduction in plant fresh weight and dry weight, probably due to nitrogen deficiency. However, the elevated level of phenolics in organically grown pac choi could also have been due to confounding effects of nitrogen availability, insect attack and pesticide application. A follow‐up greenhouse experiment further demonstrated a significant increase in phenolic compounds and a reduction in yield with organic fertiliser (vermicompost + fish fertiliser) relative to conventional treatment (slow release inorganic fertiliser). Preventive insecticide application did not affect the phenolic levels in pac choi under either organic or conventional fertilisation.CONCLUSION: Given that higher phenolic content in pac choi was associated with low nitrogen availability and considerable yield reduction, research is needed to determine the extent to which phenolic compounds may differ in organic and conventional pac choi when nutrient levels are adjusted to produce comparable yields. Additional study is also warranted to determine the extent to which insect attack might contribute to elevated phenolic content in organic pac choi. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry
Nitrogen fertilisation in coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.): a review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Carrubba Alessandra 
Published: March 2009

AbstractNitrogen (N) fertilisation is one of the most important external inputs in assessing coriander seed yield and plant growth. Recent concerns related to the misuse of N fertilisers in agricultural environments, however, stress the opportunity for a fine‐tuning of N management in order to optimise the use of this element, avoiding losses and reducing environmental hazards. In this study, some results from the literature concerning N fertilisation in coriander are reviewed and, by means of statistical analysis, an attempt is made to derive from them some general suggestions about practices of N fertilisation. In most cases examined, N fertilisation allowed a 10–70% increase in seed yields in comparison with each respective untreated control. The efficiency of use of this element, however, has proven to be greatly dependent on the overall fertility conditions of the growing site. The greatest yield advantages were actually found in more favourable environments, whereas in low‐yielding environments plants reached their maximum yield with a comparatively reduced N supply. In low‐yielding environments a careful risk/benefit assessment of this practice is therefore advisable. No definite conclusion could be drawn at this stage about essential oil yield and composition in relation to N fertilisation. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry
Contribution of the largest events to suspended sediment transport across the USA
Authors: Gonzalez‐Hidalgo J. C. , Batalla R. J. , Cerdà A. , de Luis M. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThis work analyses the contribution of the largest events to suspended sediment transport on the continental scale. The analysis is based on the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Suspended Sediment and Ancillary database. Data were obtained from 1314 catchments, comprising more than 2 500 000 daily events. The total number of days in the dataset amounts to 10 000 years. Catchments are of different sizes and belong to distinct climatic environments; they are distributed for the analysis according to USA hydrological divisions (HDs). The main objective of the research is to examine the effect of the n‐largest event on the total suspended sediment load over recorded periods, and to discuss different behaviour between HDs. To accomplish this, the daily events at each catchment are ranked by magnitude, and then the percentage represented by the n‐largest event (e.g. 3‐largest, 5‐largest, 10‐largest, 15‐largest, 20‐largest, 25‐largest) is calculated from the total accumulated load. Results indicate that suspended sediment transported by the 25‐largest events represents on average more than 50 per cent of the total load. The California HD, mostly under Mediterranean climatic conditions, accounts for the highest percentage of sediment transport across conterminous USA, whatever n‐largest daily events are selected. There, the 3‐largest events contribute, on average, 38 per cent of the total sediment load, the 10‐largest events represent 61 per cent and the 25‐largest events produce more than 76 per cent of the total sediment transport. Overall, the contribution of largest daily events seems not to depend on the climatic conditions in small catchments (<100 km2) and, in addition, the percentage of suspended sediment increases over all HDs, while, at the same time, the catchment size decreases. Finally, we discuss differences between catchments across the USA, according to climatic and historical (i.e. land use) factors. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The role of science in implementing international environmental agreements: The case of desertification
Authors: Grainger Alan 
Published: March 2009

AbstractA preliminary framework for evaluating the effectiveness of international environmental agreements (IEAs) is described, and applied to the UN Plan of Action to Combat Desertification (PACD) and UN Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD), both of which have proven ineffective. There is good correspondence between the framework's nine criteria and official explanations of the reasons for poor implementation. Most of the criteria were identified in previous studies but opinions are divided on one of them—access to scientific knowledge. Its inclusion does, however, receive support from experiences in the desertification regime. Successive organizations of science‐policy communication in the CCD have lacked many of the ideal features of boundary organizations, with access to scientific knowledge impeded mainly by formal institutions, compared with informal institutions in the PACD. Yet while applying the boundary organization model in a descriptive manner diagnoses the particular deficiencies in science‐policy communication in this regime it cannot explain why they occur. Linking the CCD to a large and diverse scientific network, similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, could improve matters. But this may not be politically feasible, as new knowledge could undermine the viability of the CCD by unravelling its initial rule system. Progress in combating dryland degradation may therefore only be possible in another regime, e.g. in the successor to the Kyoto Protocol, or by devising a new interdisciplinary conceptualization of desertification which does not rely on ambiguity, as is the case at present. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effects of livestock traffic on rock fragment movement on hillsides in a semiarid patchy rangeland
Authors: Ungar E. D. , Stavi I. , Lavee H. , Sarah P. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe roles of livestock traffic and surface cover types in controlling the movement of rock fragments was studied on north‐ and south‐facing hillsides in Israel's northern Negev. Experimental plots were mapped in terms of three surface cover types: shrub patch, flock trampling route and elsewhere in the intershrub. Numbered rock fragments in three size categories were distributed uniformly across the plots, half of which were fenced off as controls, and half were traversed by a flock of goats during two grazing seasons. The coordinates of the numbered rock fragments were recorded at the beginning, middle and end of each season. Coordinates were converted to patch type by using the plot map, and transition probabilities and movement distances were computed. There was considerable movement of rock fragments in the open plots, but none in the control plots. The probability of a rock fragment in the open plots being moved was 86, 60 and 5 per cent, respectively, for initial placement on cover types: trampling route, intershrub and shrub. The mean distance travelled by all rock fragments or only those that moved was greater for those placed on a trampling route than for those placed elsewhere in the intershrub. There was evidence that livestock traffic clears the trampling routes of rock fragments and causes their accumulation on shrub patches. We would expect disturbance of the patch structure to lead to a reduction in surface roughness that would intensify rock fragment movement and increase soil erosion. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Low Viscosity Poly(trimethylene carbonate) for Localized Drug Delivery: Rheological Properties and in vivo Degradation
Authors: Timbart Laurianne , Tse M. Yat , Pang Stephen C. , Babasola Oladunni , Amsden Brian G. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to examine the potential of low‐molecular‐weight poly(trimethylene carbonate) for localized delivery for acid‐sensitive drugs. Poly(trimethylene carbonate) of various molecular weights is prepared by ring‐opening polymerization initiated by octan‐1‐ol and co‐initiated/catalyzed by tin 2‐ethylhexanoate. The resultant polymers are amorphous with low glass transition temperatures and viscosities at 37 °C that permit their injection through an $18{1 \over 2}$ G 1.5″ needle. Their biocompatibility and the influence of the molecular weight on the rate of degradation are assessed in vivo through subcutaneous implantation in rats over 40 weeks. The polymers are well tolerated in vivo, and degrade in a fashion dependent on their initial molecular weight. For very low initial molecular weight (620 Da) and for high initial molecular weight (2 400 Da), polymer mass loss is a result of dissolution of the soluble low molecular chains from the bulk. This is contrasted by the results obtained for an intermediate initial molecular weight (1 600 Da), for which polymer mass loss is a result of both dissolution and enzymatic hydrolysis or oxidation as a result of reactive species secreted by activated macrophages at the implant surface.magnified image
Encapsulation of a Fragrance via Miniemulsion Polymerization for Temperature‐Controlled Release
Authors: Theisinger Sonja , Schoeller Katrin , Osborn Barry , Sarkar Manish , Landfester Katharina 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe encapsulation of the hydrophobic fragrance 1,2‐dimethyl‐1‐phenyl‐butyramide (DMPBA), a typical C9 amide, in poly(methyl methacrylate), polystyrene, or acrylic copolymer nanoparticles can easily be obtained using a one‐step miniemulsion process. It is shown that this hydrophobic compound directly influences the kinetics, the molecular weight, and the morphology of the nanocapsule formation. The release behavior can be tuned by the temperature in relation to the Tg of the polymer which makes these nanocapsules interesting candidates for temperature‐dependent delivery systems.magnified image
Multifunctional Poly(N‐vinylcarbazole)‐Based Block Copolymers and their Nanofabrication and Photosensitizing Properties
Authors: Tam Wing Yan , Mak Chris S. K. , Ng Alan Man Ching , Djurišić Aleksandra B. , Chan Wai Kin 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe synthesis of poly(N‐vinylcarbazole)‐based block copolymers functionalized with rhenium diimine complexes or pendant terpyridine ligands is reported. The copolymers are synthesized by reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization, and they exhibit interesting morphological properties as a result of the phase separation between different blocks. The rhenium complex polymer block may function as a photosensitizer, while the terpyridine‐containing polymer block can be used as the template for nanofabrication by selective deposition of zinc complexes.magnified image
Numerical Self‐Consistent Field Theory of Cylindrical Polyelectrolyte Brushes
Authors: Qu Li‐Jian , Jin Xigao , Liao Qi 
Published: March 2009

AbstractA single cylindrical polyelectrolyte brush is studied by self‐consistent field (SCF) theory and the results compared with predictions from scaling theory. It is shown that the SCF theory results give the general trends as well as insight into the crossover regions between different regimes. The density profiles of the polyions and small ions indicate that the systems are locally electroneutral. The salted brush bears characteristics similar to those of a neutral brush. Counter‐intuitively, the chains are not uniformly stretched in the osmotic regime. The free‐end monomers shift to the outer region and an exclusion zone appears and grows with decreasing of salt concentration.magnified image
Transport equation with boundary conditions of hysteresis type
Authors: Amler T. G. , Botkin N. D. , Hoffmann K.‐H. , Meirmanov A. M. , Starovoitov V. N. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThis paper is an advanced extension of the work reported in (Nonlinear Anal. 2005; 63:1467–1473). A transport equation that describes the propagation of a substance in a moving fluid or gas is considered. The equation contains the transient, convection, and diffusion terms. The problem is formulated in a bounded domain provided with an inlet and an outlet for the fluid or gas flow. The crucial point of the problem setting is a hysteresis‐type condition posed on an active part of the boundary. This condition reflects the nondecreasing accumulation with saturation of the transported substance at each point of the active boundary part. We prove the existence and uniqueness of solutions to this problem, study the regularity properties of solutions, and perform numerical simulations that clarify the behavior of the model. Comparing with the results of (Nonlinear Anal. 2005; 63:1467–1473), the advancement of this work consists in accounting for the motion of the fluid or gas and posing inlet and outlet boundary conditions. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Stability analysis of membrane‐reinforced curved earth retaining walls, using a multiphase approach
Authors: Hassine Wiem Ben , Hassis Hedi , de Buhan Patrick 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe stability analysis of curved earth retaining walls, stabilized by reinforcing membranes, is investigated by means of a multiphase model developed in the framework of the yield design approach. This model is an extension of that previously developed for soils reinforced by linear inclusions. It combines the advantage of a homogenization approach in terms of improved computational efficiency, with its capability to account for a specific soil–reinforcement failure condition, in a rational and systematic way. Application of this model is performed on the illustrative example of a cylindrical‐reinforced retaining wall by means of the kinematic approach of yield design, which provides upper bound estimates for the retaining wall stability factor. Nondimensional charts are finally presented assessing the influence of relevant parameters such as the curvature of the wall, the length of the reinforcing membranes or the reinforcement pull‐out resistance. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A prognostic gene expression index in ovarian cancer—validation across different independent data sets
Authors: Denkert Carsten , Budczies Jan , Darb‐Esfahani Silvia , Györffy Balazs , Sehouli Jalid , Könsgen Dominique , Zeillinger Robert , Weichert Wilko , Noske Aurelia , Buckendahl Ann‐Christin , Müller Berit M , Dietel Manfred , Lage Hermann 
Published: March 2009

AbstractOvarian carcinoma has the highest mortality rate among gynaecological malignancies. In this project, we investigated the hypothesis that molecular markers are able to predict outcome of ovarian cancer independently of classical clinical predictors, and that these molecular markers can be validated using independent data sets. We applied a semi‐supervised method for prediction of patient survival. Microarrays from a cohort of 80 ovarian carcinomas (TOC cohort) were used for the development of a predictive model, which was then evaluated in an entirely independent cohort of 118 carcinomas (Duke cohort). A 300‐gene ovarian prognostic index (OPI) was generated and validated in a leave‐one‐out approach in the TOC cohort (Kaplan‐Meier analysis, p = 0.0087). In a second validation step, the prognostic power of the OPI was confirmed in an independent data set (Duke cohort, p = 0.0063). In multivariate analysis, the OPI was independent of the post‐operative residual tumour, the main clinico‐pathological prognostic parameter with an adjusted hazard ratio of 6.4 (TOC cohort, CI 1.8–23.5, p = 0.0049) and 1.9 (Duke cohort, CI 1.2–3.0, p = 0.0068). We constructed a combined score of molecular data (OPI) and clinical parameters (residual tumour), which was able to define patient groups with highly significant differences in survival. The integrated analysis of gene expression data as well as residual tumour can be used for optimized assessment of the prognosis of platinum‐taxol‐treated ovarian cancer. As traditional treatment options are limited, this analysis may be able to optimize clinical management and to identify those patients who would be candidates for new therapeutic strategies. Copyright © 2009 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.