bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prospects of e-beam evaporated molybdenum oxide as a hole transport layer for perovskite solar cells
Authors: Ali F. , Khoshsirat N. , Duffin J. L. , Wang H. , Ostrikov K. , Bell J. M. , Tesfamichael T.
Published: September 2017

Perovskite solar cells have emerged as one of the most efficient and low cost technologies for delivering of solar electricity due to their exceptional optical and electrical properties. Commercialization of the perovskite solar cells is, however, limited because of the higher cost and environmentally sensitive organic hole transport materials such as spiro-OMETAD and PEDOT:PSS. In this study, an empirical simulation was performed using the Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator software to explore the MoOx thin film as an alternative hole transport material for perovskite solar cells. In the simulation, properties of MoOx thin films deposited by the electron beam evaporation technique from high purity (99.99%) MoO3 pellets at different substrate temperatures (room temperature, 100 °C and 200 °C) were used as input parameters. The films were highly transparent (>80%) and have low surface roughness (≤2 nm) with bandgap energy ranging between 3.75 eV and 3.45 eV. Device simulation has shown that the MoOx deposited at room temperature can work in both the regular and inverted structures of the perovskite solar cell with a promising efficiency of 18.25%. Manufacturing of the full device is planned in order to utilize the MoOx as an alternative hole transport material for improved performance, good stability, and low cost of the perovskite solar cell.
Beam cleaning of an incoherent laser via plasma Raman amplification
Authors: Edwards Matthew R. , Qu Kenan , Mikhailova Julia M. , Fisch Nathaniel J.
Published: September 2017

We show that backward Raman amplification in plasma can efficiently compress a temporally incoherent pump laser into an intense coherent amplified seed pulse, provided that the correlation time of the pump is longer than the inverse plasma frequency. An analytical theory for Raman amplification using pump beams with different correlation functions is developed and compared to numerical calculations and particle-in-cell simulations. Since incoherence on scales shorter than the instability growth time suppresses spontaneous noise amplification, we point out a broad regime where quasi-coherent sources may be used as efficient low-noise Raman amplification pumps. As the amplified seed is coherent, Raman amplification additionally provides a beam-cleaning mechanism for removing incoherence. At near-infrared wavelengths, finite coherence times as short as 50 fs allow amplification with only minor losses in efficiency.
Ion-beam-induced planarization, densification, and exfoliation of low-density nanoporous silica
Authors: Kucheyev S. O. , Shin S. J.
Published: September 2017

Planarization of low-density nanoporous solids is challenging. Here, we demonstrate that ion bombardment to doses of ∼1015 cm−2 results in significant smoothing of silica aerogels, yielding mirror-like surfaces after metallization. The surface smoothing efficiency scales with the ion energy loss component leading to local lattice heating. Planarization is accompanied by sub-surface monolith densification, resulting in surface exfoliation with increasing ion dose. These findings have implications for the fabrication of graded-density nanofoams, aerogel-based lightweight optical components, and meso-origami.
Scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis for multilayered chiral spin textures
Authors: Lucassen Juriaan , Kloodt-Twesten Fabian , Frömter Robert , Oepen Hans Peter , Duine Rembert A. , Swagten Henk J. M. , Koopmans Bert , Lavrijsen Reinoud
Published: September 2017

We show that scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis (SEMPA) that is sensitive to both in-plane magnetization components can be used to image the out-of-plane magnetized multi-domain state in multilayered chiral spin textures. By depositing a thin layer of Fe on top of the multilayer, we image the underlying out-of-plane domain state through the mapping of its stray fields in the Fe. We also demonstrate that SEMPA can be used to image the domain wall chirality in these systems after milling away the capping layer and imaging the topmost magnetic layer directly.
Unraveling protein folding mechanism by analyzing the hierarchy of models with increasing level of detail
Authors: Hayashi Tomohiko , Yasuda Satoshi , Škrbić Tatjana , Giacometti Achille , Kinoshita Masahiro
Published: September 2017

Taking protein G with 56 residues for a case study, we investigate the mechanism of protein folding. In addition to its native structure possessing α-helix and β-sheet contents of 27% and 39%, respectively, we construct a number of misfolded decoys with a wide variety of α-helix and β-sheet contents. We then consider a hierarchy of 8 different models with increasing level of detail in terms of the number of entropic and energetic physical factors incorporated. The polyatomic structure is always taken into account, but the side chains are removed in half of the models. The solvent is formed by either neutral hard spheres or water molecules. Protein intramolecular hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) and protein-solvent H-bonds (the latter is present only in water) are accounted for or not, depending on the model considered. We then apply a physics-based free-energy function (FEF) corresponding to each model and investigate which structures are most stabilized. This special approach taken on a step-by-step basis enables us to clarify the role of each physical factor in contributing to the structural stability and separately elucidate its effect. Depending on the model employed, significantly different structures such as very compact configurations with no secondary structures and configurations of associated α-helices are optimally stabilized. The native structure can be identified as that with lowest FEF only when the most detailed model is employed. This result is significant for at least the two reasons: The most detailed model considered here is able to capture the fundamental aspects of protein folding notwithstanding its simplicity; and it is shown that the native structure is stabilized by a complex interplay of minimal multiple factors that must be all included in the description. In the absence of even a single of these factors, the protein is likely to be driven towards a different, more stable state.
In-cylinder air-flow characteristics of different intake port geometries using tomographic PIV
Authors: Agarwal Avinash Kumar , Gadekar Suresh , Singh Akhilendra Pratap
Published: September 2017

For improving the in-cylinder flow characteristics of intake air/charge and for strengthening the turbulence intensity, specific intake port geometries have shown significant potential in compression ignition engines. In this experimental study, effects of intake port geometries on air-flow characteristics were investigated using tomographic particle imaging velocimetry (TPIV). Experiments were performed using three experimental conditions, namely, swirl port open (SPO), tangential port open (TPO), and both port open (BPO) configurations in a single cylinder optical research engine. Flow investigations were carried out in a volumetric section located in the middle of the intake and exhaust valves. Particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) images were captured using two high speed cameras at a crank angle resolution of 2° in the intake and compression strokes. The captured PIV images were then pre-processed and post-processed to obtain the final air-flow-field. Effects of these two intake ports on flow-field are presented for air velocity, vorticity, average absolute velocity, and turbulent kinetic energy. Analysis of these flow-fields suggests the dominating nature of the swirl port over the tangential port for the BPO configuration and higher rate of flow energy dissipation for the TPO configuration compared to the SPO and BPO configurations. These findings of TPIV investigations were experimentally verified by combustion and particulate characteristics of the test engine in thermal cylinder head configuration. Combustion results showed that the SPO configuration resulted in superior combustion amongst all three port configurations. Particulate characteristics showed that the TPO configuration resulted in higher particulate compared to other port configurations.
A connection between the maximum displacements of rogue waves and the dynamics of poles in the complex plane
Authors: Liu T. Y. , Chiu T. L. , Clarkson P. A. , Chow K. W.
Published: September 2017

Rogue waves of evolution systems are displacements which are localized in both space and time. The locations of the points of maximum displacements of the wave profiles may correlate with the trajectories of the poles of the exact solutions from the perspective of complex variables through analytic continuation. More precisely, the location of the maximum height of the rogue wave in laboratory coordinates (real space and time) is conjectured to be equal to the real part of the pole of the exact solution, if the spatial coordinate is allowed to be complex. This feature can be verified readily for the Peregrine breather (lowest order rogue wave) of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation. This connection is further demonstrated numerically here for more complicated scenarios, namely the second order rogue wave of the Boussinesq equation (for bidirectional long waves in shallow water), an asymmetric second order rogue wave for the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (as evolution system for slowly varying wave packets), and a symmetric second order rogue wave of coupled Schrödinger systems. Furthermore, the maximum displacements in physical space occur at a time instant where the trajectories of the poles in the complex plane reverse directions. This property is conjectured to hold for many other systems, and will help to determine the maximum amplitudes of rogue waves.
Complex blood flow patterns in an idealized left ventricle: A numerical study
Authors: Tagliabue Anna , Dedè Luca , Quarteroni Alfio
Published: September 2017

In this paper, we study the blood flow dynamics in a three-dimensional (3D) idealized left ventricle of the human heart whose deformation is driven by muscle contraction and relaxation in coordination with the action of the mitral and aortic valves. We propose a simplified but realistic mathematical treatment of the valves function based on mixed time-varying boundary conditions (BCs) for the Navier-Stokes equations modeling the flow. These switchings in time BCs, from natural to essential and vice versa, model either the open or the closed configurations of the valves. At the numerical level, these BCs are enforced by means of the extended Nitsche's method (Tagliabue et al., Int. J. Numer. Methods Fluids, 2017). Numerical results for the 3D idealized left ventricle obtained by means of Isogeometric Analysis are presented, discussed in terms of both instantaneous and phase-averaged quantities of interest and validated against those available in the literature, both experimental and computational. The complex blood flow patterns are analysed to describe the characteristic fluid properties, to show the transitional nature of the flow, and to highlight its main features inside the left ventricle. The sensitivity of the intraventricular flow patterns to the mitral valve properties is also investigated.
Quiver-quenched optical-field-emission from carbon nanotubes
Authors: Li Chi , Zhou Xu , Zhai Feng , Li Zhenjun , Yao Fengrui , Qiao Ruixi , Chen Ke , Yu Dapeng , Sun Zhipei , Liu Kaihui , Dai Qing
Published: September 2017

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) enable large electric field enhancement for an extremely broad bandwidth spanning from the optical domain down to static fields. This is due to their high aspect ratio, small tip radius, and high structural stability. CNTs therefore represent an ideal model-system for the investigation of nonlinear and strong-field phenomena. In this paper, we extend the range of optical-field-emission materials from metal nanostructures to CNTs. Quiver-quenched optical-field-emission (i.e., the transition to a sub-cycle regime) is observed for CNTs tips in a short-wavelength laser field of 820 nm that requires a mid-infrared excitation field of conventional metal tips emitters. This special property relies on the ultrasmall tips radius (∼1 nm) and the high optical-field enhancement (∼21.6) properties of CNTs. This study suggests that CNTs are excellent candidates for optically driven ultrafast electron sources with both high spatial and high temporal coherence. They also provide more freedom for the manipulation and control of electron dynamics at the attosecond timescale, which extends the bandwidth of light-wave electronic devices.
Note: Rapid measurement of fluorescence lifetimes using SiPM detection and waveform sampling
Authors: Tsai H.-M. , Souris J. S. , Kim H.-J. , Cheng S.-H. , Chen L. , Lo L.-W. , Chen C.-T. , Kao C.-M.
Published: September 2017

In fluorescence spectroscopy and imaging, fluorescence lifetime measurement—assessing the average time fluorophores spend in their excited state before returning to their ground state—offers a number of advantages over quantifying fluorescence intensities that include resistance to photo-bleaching and independence from fluorophore concentration, excitation intensity, and measurement methodology. Despite growing interest, fluorescence lifetime techniques frequently mandate relatively complex instrumentation, slow data acquisition rates, and significant data analyses. In this work, we demonstrate the feasibility of measuring fluorescence lifetimes using off-the-shelf analog silicon photomultipliers and switched-capacitor array waveform sampling techniques, with precision matching that of much larger and more elaborate commercial instruments.
Slip length for transverse shear flow over a periodic array of weakly curved menisci
Authors: Crowdy Darren
Published: September 2017

By exploiting the reciprocal theorem of Stokes flow, we find an explicit expression for the first order slip length correction, for small protrusion angles, and for transverse shear over a periodic array of curved menisci. The result is the transverse flow analogue of the longitudinal flow result of Sbragaglia and Prosperetti [“A note on the effective slip properties for microchannel flows with ultrahydrophobic surfaces,” Phys. Fluids 19, 043603 (2007)]. For small protrusion angles, it also generalizes the dilute-limit result of Davis and Lauga [“Geometric transition in friction for flow over a bubble mattress,” Phys. Fluids 21, 011701 (2009)] to arbitrary no-shear fractions. While the leading order slip lengths for transverse and longitudinal flow over flat no-shear slots are well-known to differ by a factor of 2, the first order slip length corrections for weakly protruding menisci in each flow are found to be identical.
Enhanced vibrational solvatochromism and spectral diffusion by electron rich substituents on small molecule silanes
Authors: Olson Courtney M. , Grofe Adam , Huber Christopher J. , Spector Ivan C. , Gao Jiali , Massari Aaron M.
Published: September 2017

Fourier transform infrared and two-dimensional IR (2D-IR) spectroscopies were applied to two different silanes in three different solvents. The selected solutes exhibit different degrees of vibrational solvatochromism for the Si–H vibration. Density functional theory calculations confirm that this difference in sensitivity is the result of higher mode polarization with more electron withdrawing ligands. This mode sensitivity also affects the extent of spectral diffusion experienced by the silane vibration, offering a potential route to simultaneously optimize the sensitivity of vibrational probes in both steady-state and time-resolved measurements. Frequency-frequency correlation functions obtained by 2D-IR show that both solutes experience dynamics on similar time scales and are consistent with a picture in which weakly interacting solvents produce faster, more homogeneous fluctuations. Molecular dynamics simulations confirm that the frequency-frequency correlation function obtained by 2D-IR is sensitive to the presence of hydrogen bonding dynamics in the surrounding solvation shell.
The electroneutrality constraint in nonlocal models
Authors: Lees Eitan , Rokkam Srujan , Shanbhag Sachin , Gunzburger Max
Published: September 2017

We develop a nonlocal Nernst-Planck model for reaction and diffusion in multicomponent ionic systems. We apply the model to the one-dimensional liquid junction problem, in which two electrolytic solutions of different ionic concentrations are brought into contact via a permeable membrane. Transport of ions through the membrane induces an electric field which is modeled using two separate nonlocal conditions: charge conservation and Gauss’ law. We investigate how well they satisfy the criterion of strict electroneutrality which stipulates that the net charge at each point in the domain is zero, by considering four different initial scenarios. Charge conservation and Gauss’ law yield similar results for most practical scenarios in which the initial condition satisfies strict electroneutrality. However, Gauss’ law has two important advantages over charge conservation: (i) it is numerically more stable and can be applied even when the concentration of all the charged species drops to zero and (ii) computationally, it is significantly cheaper. Further, this study provides insights on the prescription of electroneutrality conditions necessary to handle the physics of evolving charges in nonlocal peridynamic models that are aimed at modeling nonlocal reaction-diffusion or corrosion-type processes.
Kinetic pathway of the ferroelectric phase formation in doped HfO2 films
Authors: Xu Lun , Nishimura Tomonori , Shibayama Shigehisa , Yajima Takeaki , Migita Shinji , Toriumi Akira
Published: September 2017

The dopant-induced ferroelectric HfO2 formation has been systematically investigated by using cation (Sc, Y, Nb, Al, Si, Ge, and Zr) and anion (N) dopants. Both differences and similarities are discussed among various dopants by focusing on two major factors, the oxygen vacancy (Vo) and the dopant ionic size. First, the doping concentration dependence of the remanent polarization in 27 (±2) nm HfO2 films is quantitatively estimated. Then, by comparing the polarization result with the structural transformation in doped HfO2, the pathway of the dopant-induced HfO2 phase transition is discussed among monoclinic, ferroelectric orthorhombic, tetragonal, and cubic phases. Finally, it is addressed that a dopant species independent phase transition route may exist in HfO2 owing to the same kinetic transition process, in which the ferroelectric phase seems to be at an intermediate state between tetragonal and monoclinic phases.
Magnetoacoustic microscopic imaging of conductive objects and nanoparticles distribution
Authors: Liu Siyu , Zhang Ruochong , Luo Yunqi , Zheng Yuanjin
Published: September 2017

Magnetoacoustic tomography has been demonstrated as a powerful and low-cost multi-wave imaging modality. However, due to limited spatial resolution and detection efficiency of magnetoacoustic signal, full potential of the magnetoacoustic imaging remains to be tapped. Here we report a high-resolution magnetoacoustic microscopy method, where magnetic stimulation is provided by a compact solenoid resonance coil connected with a matching network, and acoustic reception is realized by using a high-frequency focused ultrasound transducer. Scanning the magnetoacoustic microscopy system perpendicularly to the acoustic axis of the focused transducer would generate a two-dimensional microscopic image with acoustically determined lateral resolution. It is analyzed theoretically and demonstrated experimentally that magnetoacoustic generation in this microscopic system depends on the conductivity profile of conductive objects and localized distribution of superparamagnetic iron magnetic nanoparticles, based on two different but related implementations. The lateral resolution is characterized. Directional nature of magnetoacoustic vibration and imaging sensitivity for mapping magnetic nanoparticles are also discussed. The proposed microscopy system offers a high-resolution method that could potentially map intrinsic conductivity distribution in biological tissue and extraneous magnetic nanoparticles.
Spin mediated magneto-electro-thermal transport behavior in Ni80Fe20/MgO/p-Si thin films
Authors: Lou P. C. , Beyermann W. P. , Kumar S.
Published: September 2017

In Si, the spin-phonon interaction is the primary spin relaxation mechanism. At low temperatures, the absence of spin-phonon relaxation will lead to enhanced spin accumulation. Spin accumulation may change the electro-thermal transport within the material, and thus may serve as an investigative tool for characterizing spin-mediated behavior. Here, we present the first experimental proof of spin accumulation induced electro-thermal transport behavior in a Pd (1 nm)/Ni80Fe20 (25 nm)/MgO (1 nm)/p-Si (2 μm) specimen. The spin accumulation originates from the spin-Hall effect. The spin accumulation changes the phononic thermal transport in p-Si causing the observed magneto-electro-thermal transport behavior. We also observe the inverted switching behavior in magnetoresistance measurement at low temperatures in contrast to magnetic characterization, which is attributed to the canted spin states in p-Si due to spin accumulation. The spin accumulation is elucidated by current dependent anomalous Hall resistance measurement, which shows a decrease as the electric current is increased. This result may open a new paradigm in the field of spin-mediated transport behavior in semiconductor and semiconductor spintronics.
Effect of modulation p-doping level on multi-state lasing in InAs/InGaAs quantum dot lasers having different external loss
Authors: Korenev V. V. , Savelyev A. V. , Maximov M. V. , Zubov F. I. , Shernyakov Yu. M. , Kulagina M. M. , Zhukov A. E.
Published: September 2017

The influence of the modulation p-doping level on multi-state lasing in InAs/InGaAs quantum dot (QD) lasers is studied experimentally for devices having various external losses. It is shown that in the case of short cavities (high external loss), there is an increase in the lasing power component corresponding to the ground-state optical transitions of QDs as the p-doping level grows. However, in the case of long cavities (small external loss), higher dopant concentrations may have an opposite effect on the output power. Based on these observations, an optimal design of laser geometry and an optimal doping level are discussed.
Characteristics of the Shanghai high-temperature superconducting electron-beam ion trap and studies of the space-charge effect under ultralow-energy operating conditions
Authors: Tu B. , Lu Q. F. , Cheng T. , Li M. C. , Yang Y. , Yao K. , Shen Y. , Lu D. , Xiao J. , Hutton R. , Zou Y.
Published: September 2017

A high-temperature superconducting electron-beam ion trap (EBIT) has been set up at the Shanghai EBIT Laboratory for spectroscopic studies of low-charge-state ions. In the study reported here, beam trajectory simulations are implemented in order to provide guidance for the operation of this EBIT under ultralow-energy conditions, which has been successfully achieved with a full-transmission electron-beam current of 1–8.7 mA at a nominal electron energy of 30–120 eV. The space-charge effect is studied through both simulations and experiments. A modified iterative formula is proposed to estimate the space-charge potential of the electrons and shows very good agreement with the simulation results. In addition, space-charge compensation by trapped ions is found in extreme ultraviolet spectroscopic measurements of carbon ions and is studied through simulation of ion behavior in the EBIT. Based on the simulation results, the ion-cloud radius, ion density, and electron–ion overlap are obtained.
Phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) and Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) follicular signalling is conserved in the mare ovary
Authors: Hall Sally E. , Upton Rose M. O. , McLaughlin Eileen A. , Sutherland Jessie M.
Published: September 2017

The mare ovary is unique in its anatomical structure; however, the signalling pathways responsible for physiological processes, such as follicular activation, remain uncharacterised. This provided us with the impetus to explore whether signalling molecules from important folliculogenesis pathways, phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) and Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT), are conserved in the mare ovary. Messenger RNA expression of six genes important in follicle development was measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction and protein localisation of key pathway members (PI3K, AKT1, phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN), JAK1, STAT3 and suppressor of cytokine signalling 4 (SOCS4)) was compared in tissue from fetal and adult mare ovaries. Tissue from adult ovaries exhibited significantly increased levels of mRNA expression of PI3K, AKT1, PTEN, JAK1, STAT3 and SOCS4 compared with tissue from fetal ovaries. PI3K, AKT1, JAK1 and STAT3 demonstrated redistributed localisation, from pregranulosa cells in fetal development, to both the oocyte and granulosa cells of follicles in the adult ovary, whilst negative feedback molecules PTEN and SOCS4 were only localised to the granulosa cells in the adult ovary. These findings suggest that the PI3K/AKT and JAK/STAT signalling pathways are utilised during folliculogenesis in the mare, similarly to previously studied mammalian species, and may serve as useful biomarkers for assessment of ovary development in the horse.
The uses of history by the Polish democratic opposition in the late 1970s
Authors: Doucette Siobhan
Published: September 2017

During the late 1970s, members of the Polish democratic opposition revised and reinterpreted key elements in the Polish past in support of their contemporary ideas about Polish society and opposition. The birth of the independent press in Poland in 1976 provided these debates with a medium for wide dissemination and discussion. Analysis of democratic opposition debates in the independent press on the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, historic Polish–Russian relations, and the struggle for and achievement of independence in the early twentieth century shed light on the ways in which the democratic opposition perceived Polish society and the legacy of tolerance, diversity, nationalism, and socialism within it. It also reveals the major divisions within the democratic opposition and its primary tactical proposals prior to the birth of the Solidarity trade union in 1980. Forty years later, these debates continue to reverberate.
Is there a new institutional response to the crimes of Communism? National memory agencies in post-Communist countries: the Polish case (1998–2014), with references to East Germany
Authors: Mink Georges
Published: September 2017

Post-Communist Europe has not chosen to imitate the Truth and Justice or Truth and Reconciliation Commissions set up on several other continents. The notion of reconciliation with the Communist regime is not of much interest to certain political parties, many of which are rooted in the protest against the compromises that were part of the negotiated revolutions. The model admired by post-Communist countries was the one conceived by the Germans. Almost all the countries founded specific institutions – institutes – for managing memory, with archives located in these institutes. Some have archives that date from before World War II to 1990; they handle both totalitarianisms. What is feared is that through the game of partisan appointments, these institutes will become little more than instruments in less than honest hands for use in political contests. This is especially likely given that the Polish Institute of National Memory (IPN) employees perform several functions: classification, prosecution, and evaluating individual applicants to certain administrative positions. The specialized literature usually explains the trials and tribulations of Poland's IPN in terms of the personalities of its different directors and the period in which each occupied that post. In this paper, we have verified this hypothesis.
Advocating for the cause of the “victims of Communism” in the European political space: memory entrepreneurs in interstitial fields
Authors: Neumayer Laure
Published: September 2017

The European Parliament (EP) adopted, between 2004 and 2009, a series of resolutions calling for recognition of Communist crimes and commemoration of their victims. This article focuses on an overlooked aspect of anti-Communist activism, the awareness-raising activities carried out by some Central European Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to perpetuate the cause through networks that enable them to exchange institutional credibility, scientific legitimacy, and policy-oriented knowledge with Institutes of National Memory, parts of academia, and victims associations. Although they use the techniques of expertise and scandalization that are often effective in European institutions, these memory entrepreneurs have largely failed to further their claims in the European Union (EU) after 2009. In line with the turn toward “practice” in EU studies and the increased attention paid to agency in memory politics, this article contends that the conditions of production of their narrative of indictment of Communism accounts for this relative lack of success. Because their demands produced a strong polarization inside the EP while colliding with established Western patterns of remembrance, these MEPs’ reach remains limited to their Conservative peers from the former Eastern bloc. This weak national and ideological representativeness hinders their capacity to impose their vision of the socialist period in the European political space.
Occurrence of an Intersexual Pacific Spadenose Shark Scoliodon macrorhynchos from the Southern Taiwan Strait
Authors: Zhao Yu , Chen Mingru , Jiang Chengpu , Yang Shengyun , Xiao Jiamei
Published: September 2017

An intersexual specimen of Pacific Spadenose Shark Scoliodon macrorhynchos was found in the southern Taiwan Strait. It exhibited fully calcified claspers as well as bilateral ovotestes and reproductive tracts of both sexes. Histological analysis of its left ovotestis showed that it contained viable germ cells of both sexes, which allowed potential functionality as either sex physiologically. This specimen represents the first reported case of intersexuality in the genus Scoliodon and is also a rare record of intersexuality in elasmobranchs.
A stroboscopic light source for experiments in mechanics
Authors: Mayer V V , Varaksina E I
Published: September 2017

We propose to attach a small stroboscopic light source to a moving object and connect the source to a pulse generator with the help of insulated thin flexible multi-cored wires. Students can assemble such a device independently in a school laboratory. The device can be used to obtain trajectories with time marks in students’ research projects in mechanics. In the paper we give an example of the application of stroboscopic photography in a demonstration experiment devoted to inertia.
The Literary Marketplace
Authors: Brier Evan
Published: September 2017

What is the literary marketplace, and what is the relationship between literature and the marketplace? The decades since the end of World War II have seen enormous changes in the economics of literary production: the book trade has grown, consolidated, and globalized; chain bookstores have replaced independent booksellers; and technological advancements have transformed how books are produced and how readers shop for, acquire, and read them. With these changes, questions about how the literary marketplace has mattered to literary history have been asked with increasing urgency, and the histories of those institutions that engage in producing, distributing, and selling literature have received increasing amounts of scholarly attention. Where the market was once understood to be a kind of implacable antagonist to literature, and literature once defined by virtue of its opposition to, and essential difference from, goods that are mass-produced, today the fields of book history, the sociology of literature, and literary studies itself frequently highlight the marketplace as a producer of modern and contemporary literature and—for better or worse—as a necessary context for it. What caused this shift, and what are its implications for literary study and for the idea of literature itself? How is a marketplace devoted specifically to the rarefied category of literature distinguished from the book trade generally, and how might one distinguish literature from nonliterature when both are produced by the same set of mostly commercial institutions? Answers to these questions depend in large part on the evolving, and surprisingly elusive, concept of a “literary marketplace” itself.
Strategic Planning in the Public Sector
Authors: Bryson John , Edwards Lauren Hamilton
Published: September 2017

Strategic planning has become a fairly routine and common practice at all levels of government in the United States and elsewhere. It can be part of the broader practice of strategic management that links planning with implementation. Strategic planning can be applied to organizations, collaborations, functions (e.g., transportation or health), and to places ranging from local to national to transnational. Research results are somewhat mixed, but they generally show a positive relationship between strategic planning and improved organizational performance. Much has been learned about public-sector strategic planning over the past several decades but there is much that is not known.

There are a variety of approaches to strategic planning. Some are comprehensive process-oriented approaches (i.e., public-sector variants of the Harvard Policy Model, logical incrementalism, stakeholder management, and strategic management systems). Others are more narrowly focused process approaches that are in effect strategies (i.e., strategic negotiations, strategic issues management, and strategic planning as a framework for innovation). Finally, there are content-oriented approaches (i.e., portfolio analyses and competitive forces analysis).

The research on public-sector strategic planning has pursued a number of themes. The first concerns what strategic planning “is” theoretically and practically. The approaches mentioned above may be thought of as generic—their ostensive aspect—but they must be applied contingently and sensitively in practice—their performative aspect. Scholars vary in whether they conceptualize strategic planning in a generic or performative way. A second theme concerns attempts to understand whether and how strategic planning “works.” Not surprisingly, how strategic planning is conceptualized and operationalized affects the answers. A third theme focuses on outcomes of strategic planning. The outcomes studied typically have been performance-related, such as efficiency and effectiveness, but some studies focus on intermediate outcomes, such as participation and learning, and a small number focus on a broader range of public values, such as transparency or equity. A final theme looks at what contributes to strategic planning success. Factors related to success include effective leadership, organizational capacity and resources, and participation, among others.

A substantial research agenda remains. Public-sector strategic planning is not a single thing, but many things, and can be conceptualized in a variety of ways. Useful findings have come from each of these different conceptualizations through use of a variety of methodologies. This more open approach to research should continue. Given the increasing ubiquity of strategic planning across the globe, the additional insights this research approach can yield into exactly what works best, in which situations, and why, is likely to be helpful for advancing public purposes.
Exemplification Theory in Health and Risk Messaging
Authors: Spence Patric R. , Westerman David , Rice Robert G.
Published: September 2017

Humans often prefer representations that are cognitively easier to store, and such representations are easier to retrieve later to make judgments about the social world. Exemplification theory draws on physiological memory mechanisms and argues that simple, iconic, concrete, and emotionally arousing depictions of events (exemplars) are favored and thus more likely to be stored and used than are abstract, inconsequential depictions or representations. Inconsequential information or representations are forgotten because they are not processed as being essential for survival. Exemplified events vary on a continuum of how accurately they represent a larger occurrence of events. Through specific uses of pictures, quotes and other depictive strategies, concrete, iconic, and emotionally arousing information is often added to a story. Research has documented the strength of specific exemplars in creating inaccurate estimations of events and perceptions of severity and susceptibility. Moreover, in the presence of a risk, portrayals with exemplars have been shown to motivate individuals to intend to change behavior. Exemplification is a strong theory that is understudied and underutilized. The theory has strong explanatory, predictive, and organizing power, and it has application to phenomena in contexts such as media effects, persuasion, crisis and risk communication, health communication and public relations.
Vegetation at the Time of the African Humid Period
Authors: Lézine Anne-Marie
Published: September 2017

An orbitally induced increase in summer insolation during the last glacial-interglacial transition enhanced the thermal contrast between land and sea, with land masses heating up compared to the adjacent ocean surface. In North Africa, warmer land surfaces created a low-pressure zone, driving the northward penetration of monsoonal rains originating from the Atlantic Ocean. As a consequence, regions today among the driest of the world were covered by permanent and deep freshwater lakes, some of them being exceptionally large, such as the “Mega” Lake Chad, which covered some 400 000 square kilometers. A dense network of rivers developed.

What were the consequences of this climate change on plant distribution and biodiversity? Pollen grains that accumulated over time in lake sediments are useful tools to reconstruct past vegetation assemblages since they are extremely resistant to decay and are produced in great quantities. In addition, their morphological character allows the determination of most plant families and genera.

In response to the postglacial humidity increase, tropical taxa that survived as strongly reduced populations during the last glacial period spread widely, shifting latitudes or elevations, expanding population size, or both. In the Saharan desert, pollen of tropical trees (e.g., Celtis) were found in sites located at up to 25°N in southern Libya. In the Equatorial mountains, trees (e.g., Olea and Podocarpus) migrated to higher elevations to form the present-day Afro-montane forests. Patterns of migration were individualistic, with the entire range of some taxa displaced to higher latitudes or shifted from one elevation belt to another. New combinations of climate/environmental conditions allowed the cooccurrences of taxa growing today in separate regions. Such migrational processes and species-overlapping ranges led to a tremendous increase in biodiversity, particularly in the Saharan desert, where more humid-adapted taxa expanded along water courses, lakes, and wetlands, whereas xerophytic populations persisted in drier areas.

At the end of the Holocene era, some 2,500 to 4,500 years ago, the majority of sites in tropical Africa recorded a shift to drier conditions, with many lakes and wetlands drying out. The vegetation response to this shift was the overall disruption of the forests and the wide expansion of open landscapes (wooded grasslands, grasslands, and steppes). This environmental crisis created favorable conditions for further plant exploitation and cereal cultivation in the Congo Basin.
Intractable Conflict and Peacemaking from a Socio-Psychological Approach
Authors: Vered Soli , Bar-Tal Daniel
Published: September 2017

Intractable conflicts are demanding, stressful, painful, exhausting, and costly in both human and material terms. To adapt to these conditions, societies that are engaged in protracted, violent conflict develop an appropriate socio-psychological infrastructure that eventually becomes the foundation for the development of culture of conflict. The infrastructure fulfills important functions for the societies involved but can be a major socio-psychological barrier to peaceful resolution of the conflict. Transforming the nature of the relations between two societies that were in hostile and violent rivalry requires a dramatic societal change, replacing the socio-psychological repertoire among society members and establishing a new culture of peace. Peacemaking is a slow, arduous process; however, if successful, the previous rivals may establish stable and lasting peaceful relations.
Sociological Institutionalism and European Integration
Authors: Saurugger Sabine
Published: September 2017

Sociological institutionalism is part of the larger group of new institutionalisms that share the basic understanding that institutions matter in social processes. Opposing a more descriptive, “old” institutionalism and a rational-choice version of institutionalism, which defends the idea that actors have the option to choose independently from a large number of attitudes, sociological institutionalists introduced the notion of logic of appropriateness, influenced by a specific strand of the sociology of organizations. This understanding, however, led to limits in the explicatory force of the approach: institutional change, as well as continued conflict and differentiated power relations among actors, could not be explained well. More recent approaches that took sociological institutionalist assumptions very seriously offered a series of possible solutions to those difficulties. While elements of rationality and power exist implicitly in different conceptualizations of sociological institutionalism, these authors explicitly brought together both actors’ rational behavior and their embeddedness in broad institutional frameworks through concentrating on the power relations that exist among agents.
Political Partisanship as a Social Identity
Authors: Huddy Leonie , Bankert Alexa
Published: September 2017

Partisanship remains a powerful influence on political behavior within developed and developing democracies, but there remains a lively debate on its nature, origins, and measurement. In this debate, political scientists draw on social identity theory to clarify the nature of partisanship and its political consequences in the United States and other developed and developing democracies. In particular, social identity theory has been used to develop an expressive model of partisanship, which stands in contrast to an instrumental model grounded in ideological and policy considerations. Included here are a discussion of the key motivational and cognitive components of social identity theory and an explanation of how the theory can be applied to the study of partisanship. The focus is on the measurement of partisanship, its social nature, its origins in convergent identities, and its ability to generate strong emotions and drive political engagement. Lastly, areas for future partisanship research are discussed. These areas include the study of negative partisan identities, coalitional identities in multiparty systems, and the political situations in which expressive and instrumental aspects of partisanship are most common.
The English School: History and Primary Institutions as Empirical IR Theory?
Authors: Buzan Barry , Lawson George
Published: September 2017

How does the English School work as part of Empirical International Relations (IR) theory? The English School depends heavily on historical accounts, and this article makes the case that history and theory should be seen as co-constitutive rather than as separate enterprises. Empirical IR theorists need to think about their own relationship to this question and clarify what “historical sensitivity” means to them. The English School offers both distinctive taxonomies for understanding the structure of international society, and an empirically constructed historical approach to identifying the primary institutions that define international society. If Empirical IR is open to historical-interpretive accounts, then its links to the English School are in part strong, because English School structural accounts would qualify; they are, in other ways, weak because the normative theory part of the English School would not qualify. Lying behind this judgement is a deeper issue: if Empirical IR theory confines itself to regularity-deterministic causal accounts, then there can be no links to English School work. Undertaking English School insights will help open up a wider view of Empirical IR theory.
Secession and Recognition in Foreign Policy
Authors: Ker-Lindsay James
Published: September 2017

There are few questions more interesting and more important for the international community than the issue of how new states are created and accepted into the wider global system through the process of recognition. While there are thousands of ethnic groups around the world, there are just 193 member states of the United Nations. And yet, for many years, the foreign policy aspects of secession and the recognition of seceding territories have received relatively little attention by scholars in the field of politics and international relations. This was largely because the subject was seen to be a marginal interest. Few territories managed to stage a credible attempt at secession. Almost none managed to gain widespread acceptance. However, over the past decade, there has been a significant growth in the attention given to secession and recognition in international relations. This has been particularly apparent since Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia, in 2008, and because of heightened secessionist tensions in the former Soviet Union.

To date, the question of de facto states—territories that are unrecognized or partially recognized—has been at the heart of studies into secession and recognition in the field of politics and international relations. Attention in this area has tended to focus on the nature, structure, and international interaction of unrecognized territories. However, the scope of research is now widening. As well as interest in the historical development of attitudes towards secession and recognition practices, scholars are now looking at the way in which parent states—as the territories they have broken away from are generally known—attempt to prevent de facto states from being recognized or otherwise legitimized by the international community. Meanwhile, increasing attention is also being given to the role of external parties, such as great powers, as well as to the efforts of secessionist territories themselves to find ways to encourage recognition, or at least to participate more widely in the international system. Therefore, while the community of scholars working in the field of secession and recognition is still relatively small, the subject itself is undergoing rapid growth.
Sequences in Foreign Policy Decision Making
Authors: Ozkececi-Taner Binnur
Published: September 2017

Discussion of some representative work from the scholars of foreign policy provides a review of the literature that can guide researchers in examining the separate yet interrelated stages of the decision-making process and that can demonstrate the importance of sequences in the process of foreign policymaking.