bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Middle Powers and the Rise of China: ‘Identity Norms’ of Dependency and Activism and the Outlook for Japan–South Korea Relationsvis-à-visthe Great Powers
Authors: SON KEY-YOUNG
Published: February 2014

How do state identities and their accompanying norms affect security behaviour especially when states consider forming alliances or alignments? Are middle powers different from great powers in their security norms and preferences? This article identifiesdependencyandactivismas two ‘identity norms’ that constitute and reproduce medium-sized states asbona fidemiddle powers. This article argues that, due to the identity norms of a middle power, Japan and South Korea are reluctant to form a bilateral alliance between themselves and their efforts to socialize with China do not necessarily contradict their security relationships with the United States. The first section focuses on the norm of dependency to illustrate whether Japan and South Korea sought to strengthen bilateral alignment in the event of major security crises, provoked by China and North Korea. It argues that a middle power is not disposed to strengthen alignment with another middle power in the event of a national security crisis because of its entrenched norm of dependency on a great power. The second section elaborates the norm of middle power activism. Both Japan and South Korea have engaged in diplomatic efforts to enmesh China in a number of multilateral security mechanisms in order to hedge against the relative decline of US influences in East Asia.
Edge contact dependent spin transport for n-type doping zigzag-graphene with asymmetric edge hydrogenation
Authors: Deng Xiaoqing , Zhang Zhenhua , Tang Guiping , Fan Zhiqiang , Zhu Huali , Yang Changhu
Published: February 2014

Spin transport features of the n-type doping zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) with an edge contact are investigated by first principle methods, where ZGNRs are C–H2 bonded at one edge while C–H bonded at the other to form an asymmetric edge hydrogenation. The results show that a perfect spin filtering effect (100%) in such ZGNR nanojunctions can be achieved in a very large bias region for the unchanged spin states regardless of bias polarities and the nanojunction with a contact of two C–H2 bonded edges has larger spin polarized current than that with a contact of two C–H bonded edges. The transmission pathways and the projected density of states (PDOS) demonstrate that the edge of C-H2 bonds play a crucial role for the spin magnetism and spin-dependent transport properties. Moreover, the negative differential resistance (NDR) effect is also observed in the spin-polarized current.
Flower-Shaped Domains and Wrinkles in Trilayer Epitaxial Graphene on Silicon Carbide
Authors: Lalmi B. , Girard J. C. , Pallecchi E. , Silly M. , David C. , Latil S. , Sirotti F. , Ouerghi A.
Published: February 2014

Trilayer graphene is of particular interest to the 2D materials community because of its unique tunable electronic structure. However, to date, there is a lack of fundamental understanding of the properties of epitaxial trilayer graphene on silicon carbide. Here, following successful synthesis of large-area uniform trilayer graphene, atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed that the trilayer graphene on 6H-SiC(0001) was uniform over a large scale. Additionally, distinct defects, identified as flower-shaped domains and isolated wrinkle structures, were observed randomly on the surface using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS). These carbon nanostructures formed during growth, has different structural and electronic properties when compared with the adjacent flat regions of the graphene. Finally, using low temperature STM/STS at 4K, we found that the isolated wrinkles showed an irreversible rotational motion between two 60° configurations at different densities of states.
Study of the interaction between laevorotatory-isoleucine and a composite fluorescent probe of Pd(ii)
Authors: Cheng Dingxi , Zhu Huiyu , Liu Qisheng
Published: February 2014

l-Isoleucine replaces acridine red in Pd2+–acridine red and forms a more stable complex. The fluorescence intensity of the system is also enhanced.
A label-free electrical assay of fibrous amyloid β based on semiconductor biosensing
Authors: Hideshima Sho , Kobayashi Masumi , Wada Takeyoshi , Kuroiwa Shigeki , Nakanishi Takuya , Sawamura Naoya , Asahi Toru , Osaka Tetsuya
Published: February 2014

Simple electrical assay discriminates between fibrous and non-fibrous amyloid β (Aβ) proteins, and determines the fibrous Aβ concentration with high sensitivity.
Sensitivity of local hydration behaviour and conformational preferences of peptides to choice of water model
Authors: Nayar Divya , Chakravarty Charusita
Published: February 2014

Secondary structural preferences of the beta-hairpin of the 2GB1 protein in the folded and unfolded ensembles are shown to be sensitive to the choice of water model.
Long-term, stable, and improved oxygen-reduction performance of titania-supported PtPb nanoparticles
Authors: Gunji Takao , Saravanan Govindachetty , Tanabe Toyokazu , Tsuda Takashi , Miyauchi Masahiro , Kobayashi Genki , Abe Hideki , Matsumoto Futoshi
Published: February 2014

Anatase-type titania-supported intermetallic PtPb nanoparticles synthesized through a wet-chemical route showed a long-term, stable, and improved oxygen reduction reaction performance.
Critical review of electrochemical advanced oxidation processes for water treatment applications
Authors: Chaplin Brian P.
Published: February 2014

A critical review of the literature focused on electrochemical advanced oxidation processes for water treatment.
Wild bitter gourd protects against alcoholic fatty liver in mice by attenuating oxidative stress and inflammatory responses
Authors: Lu Kuan-Hung , Tseng Hui-Chun , Liu Chun-Ting , Huang Ching-Jang , Chyuan Jong-Ho , Sheen Lee-Yan
Published: February 2014

Ethanol extracts of wild bitter gourd cultivars, Hualien No. 3′ and No. 4′, possessed beneficial effects against alcoholic fatty liver in mice.
Assessment of early triage for acute radiation injury in rat model based on urinary amino acid target analysis
Authors: Zhang Yuanyuan , Zhou Xian , Li Chao , Wu Jianfang , Kuo John E. , Wang Chang
Published: February 2014

This study assessed the feasibility of radiation injury early triage based on urinary amino acid analysis.
Prioritization of candidate disease genes by enlarging the seed set and fusing information of the network topology and gene expression
Authors: Zhang Shao-Wu , Shao Dong-Dong , Zhang Song-Yao , Wang Yi-Bin
Published: February 2014

The identification of disease genes is very important not only to provide greater understanding of gene function and cellular mechanisms which drive human disease, but also to enhance human disease diagnosis and treatment.
From cradle to grave: high-throughput studies of aging in model organisms
Authors: Spivey Eric C. , Finkelstein Ilya J.
Published: February 2014

This review summarizes the development of high-throughput replicative lifespan and longevity aging assays in unicellular and nematode model organisms.
Engineering reduced evolutionary potential for synthetic biology
Authors: Renda Brian A. , Hammerling Michael J. , Barrick Jeffrey E.
Published: February 2014

Biological devices can be redesigned to slow evolutionary degradation of their functions by altering how they are encoded in DNA sequences and by engineering host organisms with improved genetic stability.
Lithium chloride molten flux approach to Li2MnO3:LiMO2(M = Mn, Ni, Co) “composite” synthesis for lithium-ion battery cathode applications
Authors: Ortiz-Quiles Edwin O. , Soler Jess , Gobet Mallory , Nosach Tetiana , García-Ricard Omar J. , Resto Oscar , Hernández-Maldonado Arturo J. , Greenbaum Steve , West William C. , Cabrera Carlos R.
Published: February 2014

A scalable method for the fabrication of cathodes based on firing pristine compounds Li2MnO3and LiMn0.33Ni0.33Co0.33O2with LiCl molten flux is explored.
Crumpled reduced graphene oxide by flame-induced reduction of graphite oxide for supercapacitive energy storage
Authors: Liu Yan-Zhen , Chen Cheng-Meng , Li Yong-Feng , Li Xiao-Ming , Kong Qing-Qiang , Wang Mao-Zhang
Published: February 2014

Reduced graphene oxide powder was prepared by a flame-induced reduction method with the assist of flammable polar solvents. The new method is simple, efficient, energy saving, low-cost and scalable. As-prepared reduced graphene oxide displays excellent supercapacitive performance.
Superior supercapacitive performance in electrospun copper oxide nanowire electrodes
Authors: Vidhyadharan Baiju , Misnon Izan Izwan , Aziz Radhiyah Abd , Padmasree K. P. , Yusoff Mashitah M. , Jose Rajan
Published: February 2014

Electrospun CuO nanowires from an aqueous polymeric solution gave the highest specific capacitance so far achieved in this material when tested as a supercapacitor electrode.
Quantifying effects of interactions between polyacrylic acid and chlorhexidine in dicalcium phosphate – forming cements
Authors: Xia W. , Razi M. R. Mohd , Ashley P. , Neel E. A. Abou , Hofmann M. P. , Young A. M.
Published: February 2014

Polyacrylic acid has been shown to control setting and improve mechanical and antibacterial release properties of brushite bone cements.
Multi-core MgO NPs@C core–shell nanospheres for selective CO2 capture under mild conditions
Authors: Kim Tae Kyung , Lee Kyung Joo , Yuh Junhan , Kwak Sang Kyu , Moon Hoi Ri
Published: February 2014

A composite material of 3 nm magnesium oxide nanoparticles embedded in carbon nanospheres showed selective CO2 adsorption capacity over N2.
Iron catalyzed enantioselective sulfa-Michael addition: a four-step synthesis of the anti-asthma agent Montelukast
Authors: White James D. , Shaw Subrata
Published: February 2014

Asymmetric conjugate addition of thiols to acyclic α,β-unsaturated ketones catalyzed by an iron(iii)–salen complex gives β-thioketones in high enantiomeric excess.
Size-selective synthesis of mesoporous LiFePO4/C microspheres based on nucleation and growth rate control of primary particles
Authors: Cho Min-Young , Kim Haegyeom , Kim Hyungsub , Lim Young Su , Kim Kwang-Bum , Lee Jae-Won , Kang Kisuk , Roh Kwang Chul
Published: February 2014

LiFePO4/C microparticles with various sizes are synthesized by adjusting the nucleation and growth rate using CTAB, and exhibited excellent gravimetric and volumetric rate capabilities.
Distributed space‐time–frequency block code for cognitive wireless relay networks
Authors: Vien Quoc‐Tuan , Stewart Brian G. , Nguyen Huan X. , Gemikonakli Orhan
Published: February 2014

In this study, the authors consider cooperative transmission in cognitive wireless relay networks (CWRNs) over frequency‐selective fading channels. They propose a new distributed space‐time–frequency block code (DSTFBC) for a two‐hop non‐regenerative CWRN, where a primary source node and multiple secondary source nodes convey information data to their desired primary destination node and multiple secondary destination nodes via multiple cognitive relay nodes with dynamic spectrum access. The proposed DSTFBC is designed to achieve spatial diversity gain as well as allow for low‐complexity decoupling detection at the receiver. Pairwise error probability is then analysed to study the achievable diversity gain of the proposed DSTFBC for different channel models including Rician fading and mixed Rayleigh–Rician fading.
Cost‐effective sampling clock synchronisation scheme with its implementation in optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing systems
Authors: Chen Junchao , Li Yingchun , Song Yingxiong , Zhang Qianwu
Published: February 2014

A cost‐effective scheme for sampling clock synchronisation based on the interpolation algorithm is proposed and implemented via field programmable gate array (FPGA). This scheme can provide a simpler and more economical achievement than the schemes that utilise expensive external clock recovery circuits. Low system complexity is another advantage of the proposed scheme due to the utilisation of the results of the frame synchronisation. Besides, a novel fractional sampling interval calculating algorithm which aims to calculate the fractional sampling time offset in a sampling interval is also proposed and this simpler operation algorithm based on least squares method is proved to fully satisfy the multi‐subcarrier characteristic of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol. The design and experimental results of a 2.5 Gb/s FPGA‐based optical OFDM receiver by using the scheme that was proposed earlier are presented here. A major improvement in this scheme for sampling clock synchronisation is demonstrated to be suitable for practical application.
Observer‐based adaptive control using multiple‐models switching and tuning
Authors: Giovanini Leonardo , Sanchez Guido , Benosman Mouhacine
Published: February 2014

Despite the remarkable theoretical accomplishments and successful applications of adaptive control, this field is not mature enough to solve challenging problems where strict performance and robustness guarantees are required. The needs of an approach that explicitly accounts for robust performance and stability specifications is a critical to the design of practical adaptive control systems. Towards this goal, this study extends the robust adaptive controller using multiple models, switching and tuning to multiple input multiple output and non‐linear systems. The use of ‘extended superstability’, instead of superstability, allows us to establish overall performance guarantees and reduce the conservativeness of the resulting closed‐loop system. The authors show that under the proposed framework, the output and states remain bounded for bounded disturbances, as a direct consequence of the passivation properties of superstability. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated in numerical simulations of a non‐linear continuous stirred tank reactor.
Discrete polynomial fuzzy systems control
Authors: Chen Ying‐Jen , Tanaka Motoyasu , Tanaka Kazuo , Ohtake Hiroshi , Wang Hua O.
Published: February 2014

This study presents a sum‐of‐squares (SOS) approach to stable control and guaranteed cost control of discrete polynomial fuzzy systems. The SOS framework presented in this paper offers a new paradigm over the existing linear matrix inequality (LMI) approaches to discrete Takagi–Sugeno (T–S) fuzzy models. At first, this study, newly introduces a discrete polynomial fuzzy model that is more general and effective than the well‐known discrete T–S fuzzy model. With considering the operating domain, stable control design conditions are then derived based on state‐dependent Lyapunov functions that contain quadratic Lyapunov functions as a special case. Hence, the design approach discussed in this study could be more general than the LMI design approaches based on quadratic Lyapunov functions. Moreover, this study also discusses a guaranteed cost control design which is carried out by minimising the upper bound of a given performance function. All the design conditions derived in this study can be represented in terms of SOS and are symbolically and numerically solved via the SOSOPT and the SeDuMi, respectively. Finally, the ball‐and‐beam system is provided as an example to illustrate the utility of the proposed SOS‐based design approach.
Distributed containment control of second‐order multi‐agent systems with inherent non‐linear dynamics
Authors: Wang Ping , Jia Yingmin
Published: February 2014

This study considers the distributed containment control problem of second‐order multi‐agent systems with inherent non‐linear dynamics. Two distributed control protocols with, respectively, static and adaptive control gains are proposed to ensure that the states of the followers asymptotically converge to the convex hull spanned by the corresponding states of the leaders. For the static control protocol, undirected and directed interaction topologies among the followers are taken into consideration, under which sufficient conditions on the control gains are obtained by using a Lyapunov‐based approach. For the adaptive control protocol, it is proved that the containment control problem can be solved without requiring any global information if the interaction topology among the followers is undirected. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of our theoretical results.
A novel cost function based on decomposing least‐square support vector machine for Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy system identification
Authors: Liu Xiaoyong , Fang Huajing , Chen Zhaoxu
Published: February 2014

This study develops and illustrates a novel cost function which is the combination of these terms constituted of decomposing least square‐support vector machine (LS‐SVM) and error terms for the identification of Takagi–Sugeno (T–S) fuzzy system based only on measured data without any prior knowledge. The proposed method combines the advantages of fuzzy system theory and some ideas from LS‐SVM. Firstly, Gustafson–Kessel clustering algorithm is applied to split training data into R clustering subsets. Likewise, LS‐SVM is also decomposed into R terms and consequent parameters a k for T–S fuzzy system corresponding to these terms obtained by decomposing LS‐SVM are combined with the error terms to form the new total cost function. Following that, this constrained optimisation problem based on the total cost function can be solved by applying the Lagrange technique. The resulting fuzzy system generated by this method has the following distinct features: (i) the obtained new cost function can be regarded as a structural risk instead of empirical risk; (ii) although incorporating LS‐SVM concept into the cost function of T–S fuzzy model, it is shown that the computation process cannot only avoid the selection of kernel function, but also merely use the scalar product for original input space to further reduce the calculation greatly; and (iii) as seen in the proposed novel cost function, the approach can well guarantee the performance of both local‐regression models and global model. Finally, the viability and superiority of the method are verified by simulation.
Part‐based pose estimation with local and non‐local contextual information
Authors: Chen Ming , Tan Xiaoyang
Published: February 2014

In this study, the authors propose a new method for part‐based human pose estimation. The key idea of the authors method is to improve the accuracies for leaf parts localisations – an issue that was largely ignored by the previous study – by incorporating both local and non‐local contextual information into the model. In particular, they use the local contextual information to reduce or eliminate the influences of the noises, while the non‐local contextual information helps to improve the detection accuracies of the leaf parts. Since more accurate parts localisations usually mean a more reasonable active set of spatial constraints, this potentially enhances the effectiveness of the subsequent optimisation procedure. Furthermore, they keep the basic structure of the tree‐based model, hence taking advantage of its conceptual simplicity and computationally efficient inference. Their experiments on two challenging real‐world datasets demonstrate the feasibility and the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Solving unit commitment problem by a binary shuffled frog leaping algorithm
Authors: Barati Mohammad , Farsangi Malihe M.
Published: February 2014

Shuffled frog leaping (SFL) algorithm is one of the heuristic algorithms which is classified in swarm intelligence area. The standard version of the SFL and the improved versions of the algorithm operate in continuous space and is being researched and utilised in different subjects by researches around the world. The results obtained show that the improved versions of the algorithm perform well. But many optimisation problems are set in discrete space and there is no binary version of SFL to deal with these problems. Thus, an SFL algorithm is presented for optimising binary encoded problems called as binary SFL (BSFL). To show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, BSFL is tested on unit commitment problem, which is one of the most important problems to be solved in the operation and planning of a power system. The results obtained by the proposed algorithm are compared with the previous approaches reported in the literature. The results show that the proposed algorithm produces optimal solution for the study system.
Compressed sensing parallel factor analysis‐based joint angle and Doppler frequency estimation for monostatic multiple‐input–multiple‐output radar
Authors: Cao Renzheng , Zhang Xiaofei , Chen Weiyang
Published: February 2014

In this study, the authors discuss the topic of joint angle and Doppler frequency estimation in a monostatic multiple‐input–multiple‐output radar and a compressed sensing parallel factor (CS‐PARAFAC) analysis‐based algorithm is proposed. In this algorithm, the joint estimation problem is firstly linked to the compressed sensing trilinear model, then the estimated compressed matrix can be derived through trilinear alternating least square method and the angle and Doppler frequency are jointly estimated with sparsity from the compressed matrices. The proposed CS‐PARAFAC algorithm, which can obtain automatically paired angle and Doppler frequency estimation, has very close estimation performance to the conventional parallel factor analysis algorithm. When compared to the conventional subspace‐based algorithm, such as estimation of signal parameters via rotational invariance techniques, it can achieve much better joint angle and Doppler frequency estimation performance. As the compression, the proposed algorithm has much lower computational complexity and smaller memory capacity meanwhile. Numerical simulations verify the efficiency and illustrate performance improvement of the proposed algorithm.
Double phase estimator: new unambiguous binary offset carrier tracking algorithm
Authors: Borio Daniele
Published: February 2014

Several new global navigation satellite system modulations adopt a binary offset carrier (BOC) subcarrier to shape the signal spectrum, increase the frequency separation and improve the tracking performance. BOC modulated signals are, however, characterised by ambiguous multi‐peaked correlation functions and several techniques have been proposed in the literature to solve the problem of locking into secondary peaks. In this study, a novel unambiguous BOC tracking technique, the double phase estimator (DPE), is designed to account for the effect of signal bandlimiting. The DPE is an effective alternative to the double estimator (DE) tracking technique where the subcarrier lock loop is replaced by a subcarrier phase lock loop. In the presence of signal bandlimiting, the DPE is able to generate local signal replicas matched in a better manner to the input components, outperforming the DE. The performance of the DPE is thoroughly characterised and the processing of real wideband BOC signals is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm proposed. In addition to this, the DPE requires a lower computational load than the DE and thus should be adopted for the processing of wideband BOC signals.
Development of a super high speed motor-generator and controller
Authors: Hong Do-Kwan , Ahn Min-Hyuk , Joo Dae-Suk , Woo Byung-Chul , Koo Dae-Hyun
Published: February 2014

To develop a super high speed motor-generator, it is essential to deal with magnetic analysis, dynamic analysis, and experimental evaluation of the heart of the MTG (Microturbine Generator) system, the motor-generator. An amorphous core is applied to a stator core for reduction of iron loss at high speed, and the motor-generator is analyzed with considerations focused on magnetic losses and the statistical optimum design. The performance of the amorphous core is validated by the analysis and experiment by back-to-back tests considering the AC load. Rotor dynamics is performed for dynamic stability at high speed using transient analysis orbit diagrams and compared with the experimental results. The simulation results of the generator are compared with the experiment. Also a super high speed controller of the MTG system is developed using a sensorless algorithm, power stack, gate driver, digital signal processing, analog circuit, and radiation heat design. Based on these results, a high speed motor-generator and controller are successfully developed.
Dynamics of skyrmions in chiral magnets: Dynamic phase transitions and equation of motion
Authors: Lin Shi-Zeng , Reichhardt Charles , Batista Cristian D. , Saxena Avadh
Published: February 2014

We study the dynamics of skyrmions in a metallic chiral magnet. First, we show that skyrmions can be created dynamically by destabilizing the ferromagnetic background state through a spin polarized current. We then treat skyrmions as rigid particles and derive the corresponding equation of motion. The dynamics of skyrmions is dominated by the Magnus force, which accounts for the weak pinning of skyrmions observed in experiments. Finally, we discuss the quantum motion of skyrmions.
Spatial organization and correlation properties quantify structural changes on mesoscale of parenchymatous plant tissue
Authors: Valous N. A. , Delgado A. , Drakakis K. , Sun D.-W.
Published: February 2014

The study of plant tissue parenchyma's intercellular air spaces contributes to the understanding of anatomy and physiology. This is challenging due to difficulty in making direct measurements of the pore space and the complex mosaic of parenchymatous tissue. The architectural complexity of pore space has shown that single geometrical measurements are not sufficient for characterization. The inhomogeneity of distribution depends not only on the percentage content of phase, but also on how the phase fills the space. The lacunarity morphometric, as multiscale measure, provides information about the distribution of gaps that correspond to degree of spatial organization in parenchyma. Additionally, modern theories have suggested strategies, where the focus has shifted from the study of averages and histograms to the study of patterns in data fluctuations. Detrended fluctuation analysis provides information on the correlation properties of the parenchyma at different spatial scales. The aim is to quantify (with the aid of the aforementioned metrics), the mesostructural changes—that occur from one cycle of freezing and thawing—in the void phase of pome fruit parenchymatous tissue, acquired with X-ray microcomputed tomography. Complex systems methods provide numerical indices and detailed insights regarding the freezing-induced modifications upon the arrangement of cells and voids. These structural changes have the potential to lead to physiological disorders. The work can further stimulate interest for the analysis of internal plant tissue structures coupled with other physico-chemical processes or phenomena.
The Verwey transition in nanostructured magnetite produced by a combination of chimie douce and spark plasma sintering
Authors: Gaudisson T. , Vázquez-Victorio G. , Bañobre-López M. , Nowak S. , Rivas J. , Ammar S. , Mazaleyrat F. , Valenzuela R.
Published: February 2014

Magnetite nanoparticles about 10 nm sized were synthesized by the polyol method. Zero-field-cooled (ZFC)-FC measurements showed a blocking temperature ∼170 K and the absence of the Verwey transition. They were subsequently consolidated by spark plasma sintering at 750 °C for 15 min, leading to a high density (92% of the theoretical density), solid body, with grains in the 150 nm range. X-ray diffraction patterns exhibited a spinel single phase with cell parameters corresponding to the magnetite structure. Magnetic measurements showed a decrease of coercivity from 685 Oe (54.5 kA/m) at 118 K to 90 Oe (7.2 kA/m) at 139 K. ZFC measurements at 25 Oe presented a three-fold magnetization increase as temperature increased; a small transition between 116 and 117.5 K, followed by a larger one from 117.6 to 124 K. The first transition can be associated with a complex crystallographic transition and delocalization of Fe2+-Fe3+, while the second one can be attributed to spin reorientation due to the magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant (K1) change of sign as previously observed only in magnetite single crystals.
Exchange bias and crystal structure of epitaxial (111) FePt/BiFeO3 sputtered thin films
Authors: Chiu Shang-Jui , Huang Li-Chun , Hsiao Shih-Nan , Chang Huang-Wei , Yu Ge-Ping , Lee Hsin-Yi
Published: February 2014

Crystallographic structure and magnetic properties of the epitaxial FePt (10 nm)/BiFeO3 (BFO) (10 nm) bilayer films grown on (111) SrTiO3 (STO) substrates with different deposition temperatures of FePt layers (Td) have been investigated using magnetron sputtering. Out-of-plane radial scan along (111) direction and off-normal (002) azimuthal scan, determined by synchrotron radiation x-ray diffractometry, evidence that the FePt layers were well epitaxially grown on the (111) epitaxial BFO layers for the samples with Td = 300 and 700 °C. On the contrary, for the bilayer films with Td = 500 °C, the FePt and BFO layers exhibit low epitaxial quality. Large in-plane exchange bias field (Heb) values of 45–412 Oe are obtained for the L10-FePt/BFO bilayer films measured with applied field of 12 kOe at room temperature. The change of effective interfacial area, observed by scanning electron microscopy, between FePt island-like particles and BFO continuous layers, and epitaxiality of the bilayer were correlated with the evolution of Heb.
Universal spectrum in the infrared range of two-dimensional turbulent flows
Authors: Iwayama T. , Watanabe T.
Published: February 2014

The low-wavenumber behavior of decaying turbulence governed by the generalized two-dimensional (2D) fluid system, the so-called α-turbulence system, is investigated theoretically and through direct numerical simulation. This system is governed by the nonlinear advection equation for an advected scalar q and is characterized by the relationship between q and the stream function ψ: \documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\begin{document}$q=-(-\bm {\nabla }^2)^{\alpha/2 }\psi$\end{document}q=−(−∇2)α/2ψ. Here, the parameter α is a real number that does not exceed 3. The enstrophy transfer function in the infrared range (k → 0) is theoretically derived to be \documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\begin{document}$T_{\alpha }^{\mathcal {Q}}(k \rightarrow 0) \sim k^5$\end{document}TαQ(k→0)∼k5 using a quasi-normal Markovianized model of the generalized 2D fluid system. This leads to three canonical cases of the infrared enstrophy spectrum, which depend on the initial conditions: Qα(k → 0) ∼ Jk, Qα(k → 0) ∼ Lk3, and Qα(k → 0) ∼ Ik5, where J, L, and I are various integral moments of two-point correlation for q. The prefactors J and L are shown to be invariants of the system, while I is an increasing function of time. The evolution from a narrow initial enstrophy spectrum exhibits a universal infrared enstrophy spectrum of the form Qα(k → 0) ∼ k5, which is independent of α. These results are verified by direct numerical simulations of the generalized 2D fluid system.
Beta-plane turbulence: Experiments with altimetry
Authors: Zhang Y. , Afanasyev Y. D.
Published: February 2014

Results from a new series of experiments on barotropic and baroclinic turbulent flows generated in a rotating tank with topographic β-effect are presented. The velocity fields are measured by the Altimetric Imaging Velocimetry. The turbulent flows observed in the experiments develop zonal jets which are latent in a stationary forced-dissipative regime of the flow but become prominent in the decaying flow. The two-dimensional energy spectra of the flows exhibit the development of anisotropy towards zonal motions. The experiments demonstrate dual turbulent cascade with energy and enstrophy ranges. The frequency-wavenumber spectra reveal the presence of Rossby waves at low wavenumbers which are excited by the turbulent motions. The experimental results are compared with available theory of β-plane turbulence.
Note: Real time three-dimensional topography measurement of microfluidic devices with pillar structures using confocal microscope
Authors: Ang Kar Tien , Fang Zhong Ping , Tay Arthur
Published: February 2014

Miniature pillars are three-dimensional (3D) features commonly found in microfluidic device. These features are usually employed as filters. Non-confocal profilometers have difficulties in measuring 3D topography of pillar structures in transparent microfluidic devices. Confocal sensors can be used to measure the 3D topography of pillar structures but they are usually time consuming due to the scanning process. We have developed a technique to measure 3D topography using a modified confocal microscope with a spinning Nipkow disk and chromatic confocal technique. Experimental results on a microfluidic device with pillar structures demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed technique. Our technique is suitable for in situ, real time measurement of microfluidic device at production speed since it requires only one confocal image to complete a measurement.
Fire does not stimulate flowering of the grasstree Xanthorrhoea latifolia subsp. latifolia in central Queensland
Authors: McKillup Stephen C. , McKillup Ruth V.
Published: February 2014

Many species of grasstree, genus Xanthorrhoea, flower profusely after fire, but little is known about responses to fire by northern Australian species. After noticing flowering in an unburnt population of Xanthorrhoea latifolia (A.Lee) Bedford subsp. latifolia in central Queensland, we tested the hypotheses that (1) X. latifolia latifolia flowers annually in the absence of fire and (2) fire has no effect on the percentage flowering. Flowering in the absence of fire consistently occurred every February–April (late summer–autumn) from 2006 to 2008. A manipulative experiment with two treatments, namely (1) burnt in spring 2009 and (2) an unburnt control, showed that the percentage flowering did not differ significantly between treatments in 2009 (before the experimental treatment was burnt) or from 2010 to 2012. There was a significant negative correlation between the percentage flowering and rainfall before each flowering season. This population may be extremely resilient to fire. Flowering occurred with or without fire, plants resprouted after fire and mortality in the burnt treatment was 2.75%. Our findings emphasise that every species within a ‘fire-dependent’ or ‘fire-tolerant’ genus cannot be assumed to respond in the same way to fire; some may require fire management at the population level.
Population biology of coppicing plants: survival of mallee (Eucalyptus spp.) populations exposed to contrasting fire and cutting regimes
Authors: Noble James C. , Diggle Peter J.
Published: February 2014

We examined data obtained from two experiments running concurrently over an 8-year period, designed to investigate the survival of mallee eucalypts exposed to various decapitation treatments applied by either fire or axe at contrasting frequencies. Annual autumn decapitation, with or without combined spring decapitation, gave the most rapid rates of depletion. The estimated half-life, i.e. time to 50% mortality, ranged from 278 days when both autumn and spring fires were applied annually, up to 3366 days when plants were cut by axe every fourth autumn. These were followed in turn by autumn decapitation every second year, then spring annually and autumn every third year and finally autumn decapitation imposed every fourth year. With the marginal exception of one treatment (burnt every third autumn), the estimated rates of depletion were greater for the burning treatments than for their cutting counterparts. The ranking of the six treatments by estimated rates of depletion was the same in both the fire and cutting trials. Prescribed fire is a powerful and cost-effective management tool for manipulating semiarid woodlands in temperate Australia. In addition to reducing grass and litter fuel, prescribed fire has the potential to promote herbage production for domestic livestock. We provide clear evidence based on field experiments that a management strategy based on relatively frequent fires applied in the autumn will significantly reduce mallee density, thereby promoting herbage productivity.
An apomictic tetraploid Paspalum chaseanum cytotype and its cytogenetic relationship with P. plicatulum (Poaceae): taxonomic and genetic implications
Authors: Novo Patricia E. , Espinoza Francisco , Quarin Camilo L.
Published: February 2014

Paspalum chaseanum Parodi (Poaceae) is a rare species seldom found in the vast phytogeographic Chaco region of South America. It occurs in some localities as a diploid with 20 somatic chromosomes, reproduces sexually and is self-incompatible. A tetraploid cytotype was recently collected in this geographic region. This accession was determined to reproduce of aposporous apomixis and was crossed, as pollen donor, onto a sexual autotetraploid plant of P. plicatulum Michx. The meiotic chromosome pairing behaviour of both parents and their hybrids was primarily as bivalents and quadrivalents, indicating that tetraploid P. chaseanum is likely to have an autoploid origin, and that both species share basically the same genome. Although some controversies exist regarding the subgeneric taxonomic classification of P. chaseanum, these results support its inclusion in the informal Plicatula group of Paspalum. The P. plicatulum × P. chaseanum hybrids segregated for apomixis. The amount of seed set in some hybrids (up to 17%) and the presence of sexual as well as facultative apomictic individuals in the progeny suggest that gene transfer through hybridisation is a feasible tool in genetic-improvement programs concerning these forage grass species.
Physical and chemical drivers of vegetation in groundwater-source pools on the Bogong High Plains, Victoria
Authors: McCartney Victoria A. , Silvester Ewen , Morgan John W. , Suter Phillip J.
Published: February 2014

The wetland communities intimately associated with groundwater sources in the Australian alps are poorly documented compared with the broader (and more obvious) alpine peatlands. In the present work, we report on the vegetation observed immediately around such sources and the characteristics of the supplying groundwater so as to understand the likely factors controlling the observed vegetation assemblage. Thirty-two groundwater sources were identified across three catchments on the Bogong High Plains, Victoria (Australia), and the vegetation associated with these sources surveyed. Groundwater sources occurred across a range of altitudes (1667–1854 m), independent of aspect, and were hydrologically connected to (upstream of) peatlands. Localised mounding adjacent to the groundwater sources resulted in the formation of pools (‘groundwater source pools’). The vegetation within the pools was dominated by bryophytes, with the aquatic bryophyte Blindia robusta the most common species. The groundwater was deficient in major ions, and similar to rainwater apart from elevated concentrations of CO2 accumulated in the groundwater-recharge process. The high CO2 concentrations, combined with the near-constant temperature conditions provided by sustained groundwater flow, are thought to be likely drivers for the high abundance of B. robusta. Although the relative contributions of rain and snow to aquifer recharge are not fully understood for the Australian Alps, these ecosystems are likely to be vulnerable to the changes in precipitation regime that are predicted under climate-change scenarios.
EcoFire: regional-scale prescribed burning increases the annual carrying capacity of livestock on pastoral properties by reducing pasture loss from wildfire
Authors: Skroblin Anja , Legge Sarah , Webb Terry , Hunt Leigh P.
Published: February 2014

Prescribed burning is an important management tool in the extensive pastoral lands in northern Australia. It can be used to influence grazing patterns, increase the nutritive value of pastures, reduce the density of woody shrubs and reduce the risk of damaging wildfires. The consequences of regional-scale prescribed burning on pasture availability and annual carrying capacities of pastoral properties in northern Australia were examined using EcoFire, a fire management program in the Kimberley Region of north-west Australia, as an example. Theoretical long-term carrying capacities of land systems, and fire scar imagery from years before (2004–06) and during EcoFire (2007–11) were used to model the impact of the program on the seasonality and extent of fire-induced losses in annual carrying capacity, and the likelihood of properties experiencing catastrophic losses in a given year. Over the 5 years that EcoFire has been running, it has resulted in a progressive reduction in the loss of annual carrying capacity caused by the burning of pasture, and shifted the season that annual carrying capacity is lost to fire from predominantly the late to the early dry season. Most notably, the established program has reduced the probability of experiencing catastrophic loss (defined here as >50% of annual carrying capacity removed due to fire) from 18 incidences to three incidences within a 3-year period. These outcomes have the potential to deliver economic benefits to pastoralists via increased annual carrying capacity and by improvements in pasture condition, provided stocking rates and pasture utilisation are managed carefully.
Molecular profiling ofMycobacterium tuberculosisidentifies tuberculosinyl nucleoside products of the virulence-associated enzyme Rv3378c
Authors: Layre Emilie , Lee Ho Jun , Young David C. , Jezek Martinot Amanda , Buter Jeffrey , Minnaard Adriaan J. , Annand John W. , Fortune Sarah M. , Snider Barry B. , Matsunaga Isamu , Rubin Eric J. , Alber Tom , Moody D. Branch
Published: February 2014

Significance

Whereas most mycobacteria do not cause disease,Mycobacterium tuberculosiskills more than one million people each year. To better understand whyMycobacterium tuberculosisis virulent and to discover chemical markers of this pathogen, we compare its lipid profile with that of the attenuated but related mycobacterium,Mycobacterium bovisBacillus Calmette–Guérin. This strategy identified a previously unknownMycobacterium tuberculosis-specific lipid, 1-tuberculosinyladenosine, which is produced by the Rv3378c enzyme. The crystal structure of Rv3378c provides information supporting drug design to inhibit prenyl transfer. Discovery of 1-tuberculosinyladenosine provides insight into howMycobacterium tuberculosisresists killing in macrophages and a new target for diagnosing tuberculosis disease.
Effector and central memory T helper 2 cells respond differently to peptide immunotherapy
Authors: Mackenzie Karen J. , Nowakowska Dominika J. , Leech Melanie D. , McFarlane Amanda J. , Wilson Claire , Fitch Paul M. , O’Connor Richard A. , Howie Sarah E. M. , Schwarze Jürgen , Anderton Stephen M.
Published: February 2014

Significance

Peptide immunotherapy (PIT) of ongoing allergy must control “memory” T helper 2 (Th2) cells. Memory T cells can be subdivided into effector memory T cells (Tem), which seem to be involved in immediate immune responses, and central memory T cells (Tcm), which are thought to provide long-term memory. We show that PIT can control allergic lung disease more effectively when the disease is driven by Tem Th2 cells, rather than by Tcm Th2 cells. PIT-treated Tcm remained more responsive to allergen, with a greater capacity to produce inflammatory Th2 cytokines in the lung. These were suppressed in PIT-treated Tem. These differences are important for clinical translation of PIT, because Tcm may be particularly dominant in some seasonal allergic conditions, such as hay fever.
Crystal structure of the proteasomal deubiquitylation module Rpn8-Rpn11
Authors: Pathare Ganesh Ramnath , Nagy István , Śledź Paweł , Anderson Daniel J. , Zhou Han-Jie , Pardon Els , Steyaert Jan , Förster Friedrich , Bracher Andreas , Baumeister Wolfgang
Published: February 2014

Significance

The 26S proteasome is a multiprotein complex that degrades proteins marked for destruction by the covalent attachment of polyubiquitin chains. Proteasome activity is essential for the removal of damaged, potentially toxic proteins and for the regulation of numerous cellular processes. Multiple crystal structures of the Rpn8-Rpn11 heterodimer, which is responsible for the removal of polyubiquitin tags before substrate degradation in the proteasome, provide insight into how substrate unfolding and isopeptide bond cleavage might be coupled, and how premature activation of this module is prevented. Its accurate function ensures timely degradation of substrates and, ultimately, the replenishment of the limited cellular pool of free ubiquitin.
Robust Hamiltonicity of Dirac graphs
Authors: Krivelevich Michael , Lee Choongbum , Sudakov Benny
Published: February 2014

A graph is Hamiltonian if it contains a cycle which passes through every vertex of the graph exactly once. A classical theorem of Dirac from 1952 asserts that every graph on

n
n

vertices with minimum degree at least

n

/

2

n/2

is Hamiltonian. We refer to such graphs as Dirac graphs. In this paper we extend Dirac’s theorem in two directions and show that Dirac graphs are robustly Hamiltonian in a very strong sense. First, we consider a random subgraph of a Dirac graph obtained by taking each edge independently with probability

p
p

, and prove that there exists a constant

C
C

such that if

p
≥
C
log
⁡
n

/

n

p \ge C \log n / n

, then a.a.s. the resulting random subgraph is still Hamiltonian. Second, we prove that if a

(
1
:
b
)

(1:b)

Maker-Breaker game is played on a Dirac graph, then Maker can construct a Hamiltonian subgraph as long as the bias

b
b

is at most

c
n

/

log
⁡
n

cn /\log n

for some absolute constant

c
>
0

c > 0

. Both of these results are tight up to a constant factor, and are proved under one general framework.
Cognitive Assessment for Clinicians
Authors: Hodges John R
Published: February 2014

This resource aims to incorporate the enormous advances over the last decade in our understanding of cognitive function into clinical practice, particularly the aspects of memory, language and attention. These advances in theory provide a practical approach to cognitive valuation at the bedside, based on methods developed at the Cambridge clinic over the past 15 years. Designed primarily for neurologists, psychiatrists and geriatricians in training who require a practical guide to assessing higher mental function, the resource will also be of interest to clinical psychologists. In this second edition, John Hodges has substantially re-organised and expanded on the original edition. It includes a new chapter devoted to the Revised Version of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE-R), with a description of its uses and limitations along with normative data. Given the importance of the early detection of dementia, a chapter is dedicated to this topic that draws on advances over the past decade. Several new illustrative case histories have also been added and all of the case descriptions have been orientated around the use of the ACE-R in clinical practice.
Testing Cognitive Function at the Bedside
Authors: Hodges John R.
Published: February 2014

Chapter 5 covers testing cognitive function at the bedside, and how the first part of the examination should assess distributed cognitive functions; deficits in these indicate damage to particular brain systems, but not to focal areas of one hemisphere. The second part of the assessment should deal with more localized functions, divided into those associated with the dominant (i.e. the left side, in right-handers) and non-dominant hemispheres.
Illustrative Cases
Authors: Hodges John R.
Published: February 2014

This chapter comprises case histories written in short note form that illustrate the method of assessment previously described and the use of the ACE-R. It does not attempt a comprehensive coverage of all cognitive disorders, but has a selected number of recent cases with either important common conditions (such as Alzheimer’s disease) or interesting neuropsychological syndromes (such as prosopagnosia). Each case history is followed by a description of the findings on cognitive assessment, a brief differential diagnosis, and a summary of the principal conclusions, indicating whether the services of a neuropsychologist are required or not.